Russell Broadbent (McMillan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I predict that the name Martin Ferguson will be well used in this House over the next 12 months if not longer. It will be the most used name of a former member that this House has ever recorded in Hansard. I say that at the time when he has made some comments after the coalition introduced a raft of changes to the fair work laws to parliament on Thursday to tighten right of entry rules for unions, to allow employees to trade penalty rates for more flexible hours, to close so-called strike-first talk-later loopholes, et cetera. Everybody knows what he said.

On the weekend I was at the Warragul show with the local mayor, who said he had to go to Yarragon and plead with businesses to remain open. They say they cannot because of the penalty rates on Sundays. This means that the young people in the electorates of regional members are not getting an opportunity to get their first job. There would not be one person in this room who did not have a first job somewhere, whether it was delivering newspapers or cutting swedes or hay. Only the older gentlemen in the room would know what I am talking about, because it is now all done by machines. It is important that we give our children in regional areas the opportunity to get their first job. We have to do something about penalty rates to do that. I say again that Martin Ferguson will have his name used in this place for the next two years. (Time expired)

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