Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm just amazed at what you say about the casualisation of jobs and that type of thing. Let me remind you that it was actually One Nation that pushed for people who are casual, if they've been with the business for 12 months or more, to then have the right to go to the employer and say, 'We want to be classified as full-time employment.' That was One Nation that did that. Aren't you aware of it, Minister? That was actually addressed, so that if people want to move casual to full-time employment they have every right to do it now. But a lot of people wish to stay as casuals because of the pay they're getting, the higher rate of pay that they have at the time. That was something that One Nation did. So, we do care about the workers out there. We do understand the stresses and strains they are going through.

Minister, can you tell me what consultations you had with businesses to ask them whether they can actually afford to pay this, if they're a smaller business competing with a bigger enterprise organisation? What consultation was undertaken and what consideration was taken on whether they can afford the enterprise bargaining agreements that larger organisations have agreed to and that will flow on to them, because 'like minded'? What consultations have been undertaken?