Tony Pasin (Barker, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Oh—I am a fool! That might be unparliamentary. But what I did not do is come into this place and say 'Oh, this is a matter of public importance; we need to discuss this in detail.' Look, I do not blame him; what he has forgotten—what he has conveniently forgotten—is that there is a review being undertaken, right now, of penalty rates. It is not the Productivity Commission's review; that is a review that is happening quite separately. The review that is being conducted is being conducted by the Fair Work Commission.

A government member: Who set that up?

I wonder: who initiated it? It was the then minister and now Leader of the Opposition—the guy who comes in here and tries to lecture us about the direction in which the country needs to head. It was Bill Shorten, ladies and gentlemen. The thing the member for Gorton forgets is that—unlike the Productivity Commission review which can only make recommendations; it is a report to government, not a report of government—if the Fair Work Commission changes the rules, that has the effect of law. So what we have here are A-grade hypocrites coming into this place, trying to scare the workers of Australia. What we are doing is getting on with the business of making a strong and secure economy to secure their conditions of employment. (Time expired)

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