Corinne Mulholland (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

This week, we saw a hard-won fight for Australian young workers. Yesterday, the Fair Work Commission ruled to abolish junior pay rates for workers aged 18, 19 and 20 in this nation. It is a decision that is long overdue, but it is the right decision because these workers are adults. They can vote, they can defend this nation and they can die for this nation, and they deserve to be paid adult wages.

It seems entirely fair to me that adults deserve to be paid as adults. It's a statement of basic fairness that should have never required a legal case to establish it—yet it did. Without the extraordinary work of the SDA, this decision would never have happened. This is a historic moment, and it's right to acknowledge the critical work of the SDA in standing up for young workers, as they have always done in this country. The work of the SDA will benefit thousands of young workers in Queensland—people working in retail, fast food and pharmacy on awards, workers who are tired of being told that their age is a reason to value their work less. To every one of those SDA members who stood up and said, 'Enough is enough,' this win is for you.

Under this decision, junior rates for 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds with six months of service will be phased out. For some workers, that will mean a pay rise of close to $10 per hour. Ten dollars an hour is life-changing for young people paying rent, buying groceries and trying to fill up their car with petrol—especially for a young person working in retail, who is often studying to support themselves through TAFE or uni at the same time. Some are working to help their families with their own household costs. It means the young woman stacking shelves on a Saturday morning gets paid the same as the person standing next to her who is doing the exact same job. It means the young man working a late-night shift at a fast food restaurant is no longer penalised simply for being born in 2008. It means the pharmacy assistant in regional Queensland who has been doing the same skilled work as her colleagues finally receives the recognition that her labour has the same value as theirs. This is what unions are for. This is what collective action looks like—standing up for what is right and what is fair.

I want to take a moment to recognise the contribution of Minister Amanda Rishworth. The minister has been a tireless advocate for working Australians, in particular young working Australians. She herself was a young worker back in the day, at Toys 'R' Us in Adelaide, where she was forced, as a 19-year-old girl, onto an individual agreement under John Howard's Work Choices. So the minister understood from the outset that junior pay rates for adults were wrong. She knew there was a structural injustice baked into awards that, for too long, too many people have stopped questioning. But she asked the questions, she pushed the process, she stood with the SDA when they brought this case forward and she stood with workers whose lives will be changed by this decision. On behalf of this side of the chamber, I say thank you to Minister Rishworth; this is your win too, and it is a significant one.

The SDA's campaign had a simple name: Adult Age, Adult Wage. Four words were a complete argument, and the Fair Work Commission agreed. The commission said, 'Yes, adults deserve to be paid as adults.' To the SDA leadership: thank you for running a disciplined, evidence based case and seeing it through. I know a number of young workers from Queensland working at the big, large supermarket and retail chains gave evidence. I say to them: thank you for your bravery and your honesty in coming forward and speaking out.

We know there is still more work to do. The phase-in period means these changes will take time to flow, and the SDA will be at the table to ensure that that process serves the interests of members and young workers. For those covered by SDA-negotiated enterprise agreements, further advice is coming. I am so proud to see Australian workers stand together and, together, get this well-deserved win. That is, indeed, a cause for celebration.