Mary Fisher (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Senator Wong. I refer to clause 12(2) of the National Employment Standards. Will the minister define how many hours constitute ‘reasonable additional hours’?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I outlined yesterday, Labor is delivering on the National Employment Standards. Yesterday, the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister released the National Employment Standards, which will come into effect in January 2010. Unlike those opposite, we in this government will provide a guaranteed safety net of 10 minimum conditions of employment. I remind the chamber that it is double the number of conditions guaranteed by the former government’s Australian fair pay and conditions standard. Again, this is the Rudd Labor government delivering on its election commitments to provide a fair and flexible industrial relations system of which the government can be proud and which was promised to the Australian people prior to the election. Over the last 24 hours we have seen the opposition asking: ‘What about this?’ ‘What about this?’ ‘What about this?’ What the Australian people will be asking is: where was this opposition, when in government, when people were having their conditions and wages stripped away by Australian workplace agreements under Work Choices? Where was Senator Fisher then? Was she asking the minister for workplace relations then what the impact was on low-paid workers of the award-stripping Australian workplace agreements?

Mary Fisher (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I rise on a point of order. My question was simple: will the minister define how many hours constitute ‘reasonable additional hours’? There are 50 pages in this document—how many hours, Minister?

Alan Ferguson (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Wong, I would remind you of the question.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr President. I am reminded of the question; I am reminded that Senator Fisher, like all of those opposite, chose to pass the Work Choices legislation, which ensured that workers in this country could be subjected to wage-stripping, conditions-stripping Australian workplace agreements. If the question is referring to maximum weekly hours, I would refer the senator to the provisions of the National Employment Standards which deal with that—they are quite lengthy—notwithstanding the fact that—

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Abetz interjecting—

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

She has them there; I am sure she can look it up. Notwithstanding the fact that, unlike your unwieldy 149 pages, which were required—

Alan Ferguson (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Senator Wong, I would ask you to address your remarks through the chair.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, as I said, I refer the senator to the provisions of the National Employment Standards. I am sure, as a lawyer, she might have her own opinion about them. But those employment standards are delivering on the government’s commitments of 10 National Employment Standards as part of our fair and flexible industrial relations system.

Mary Fisher (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I note the minister’s ill-defined definition. I refer the minister to clause 12(4)(b) of the National Employment Standards, which requires an employer to take into account an employee’s family responsibilities when considering ‘reasonable additional hours’. Does the government, as an employer, consider that requiring a working mother of two to work 37 hours straight constitutes reasonable additional hours? In the light of this, will the minister guarantee that no Australian worker will be worse off under the government’s proposed National Employment Standards?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I note the guarantee request. Can I make it clear, again through you, Mr President, to Senator Fisher that we on this side can guarantee that Labor’s workplace relations system will be balanced and fair. We can guarantee that there is nothing about the operation of Labor’s workplace relations system that will disadvantage employees. Unlike the other side when in government, we can guarantee that every employee in the federal system will be protected by Labor’s 10 legislated minimum standards and will not be subjected to the wage-stripping, conditions-stripping Australian workplace agreements that Senator Fisher and every other member of the opposition over there voted for and imposed on the Australian people prior to the last election. And no amount of questioning now about guarantees will allow the Australian people to forget that, Senator Fisher.