John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

As the member for Perth will know, I made it very clear when the legislation was introduced that in relation to the conditions of employment there were those that were stipulated as part of the Australian standard. They related to hourly rates of pay, to annual leave and to all the other things that were listed in that standard. On issues such as penalty rates I indicated that, if people were covered by an award, then the award provisions would apply. In relation to other matters such as employment under an AWA, the question of whether penalty rates would apply would be a matter that had to be specifically addressed. If those issues were not specifically addressed, then the default position would be the adoption of the provisions under the relevant award in relation to matters such as penalty rates. It remains the case that, if the lady mentioned in the honourable gentleman’s question believes she was terminated because she did not sign an AWA, she can make a complaint to the Office of Workplace Services.

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