Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Women) Share this | Hansard source

Again, this is where there is a little bit of hypocrisy from those on the other side because you would actually think that penalty rates had never been reduced under a Labor government. Well, colleagues, guess what? They were: they were reduced under the former Labor government. Tell me: was there a massive scare campaign at the time by the CFMEU saying, 'We are going to take down that Labor government. What an absolute disgrace! They have reduced the penalty rates for some of the lowest-paid workers in the country.' No, there was not, colleagues.

That would indicate to me that the current campaign that is being run by Labor and the unions is nothing more and nothing less than a campaign based on political opportunity. Under the former Labor government, for example, when a hotel employee state award in New South Wales was modernised, penalty rates were reduced by 25 per cent. They went from 200 per cent on a Sunday to 175, and we heard nothing. (Time expired)