Karen McNamara (Dobell, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Wakefield for providing the opportunity for this side of the House to present our position on the issue of penalty rates. There is no doubt that the average Australian household relies upon many contributing factors when making up their weekly wages, with penalty rates for working outside what can be deemed normal working hours just one component. We are in an age of flexible working arrangements, extended trading hours and the availability of 24/7 online capabilities. We need to re-evaluate what is deemed normal working hours. After all, what was relevant and required last century is no longer relevant to today's 24/7 environment. However, that is a discussion for another day.

Today we are here to talk about penalty rates. I am sure that, it being an election year, the topic of penalty rates will be brought to the public's attention time and time again, particularly given the unions have invested $30 million in a scare-and-deceive campaign. It is well known that the ACTU have been spending their hardworking members' money to spread deceitful and misleading lies about cutting local jobs, weekend penalty rates and workers' rights. They distribute flyers, hold phoney debates and use their social media trolls to make deceitful and misleading claims in their desperation to claim back power and control of the Australian parliament. Shame! Sadly, it appears only the Labor Party and their BFFs, the unions, are the only ones who do not know or want to admit that penalty rates are a matter for the Fair Work Commission to determine, not the government.

I would like to make my position very clear. I am a strong supporter of local jobs. I am a strong supporter of working with employers and employees to ensure the best possible outcomes for all parties, in regard to penalty rates. I am a strong support of workers' rights and of making sure every employee is treated fairly and with respect. The government has no plans to change the way penalty rates are set.

When Bill Shorten was workplace relations minister he explicitly amended the Fair Work Act to specifically require the Fair Work Commission to review all penalty rates in awards. As a result of Labor's review, employees and restaurants had their Sunday penalty rates cut. This is the only time in Australian history when award penalty rates have been lowered, and it was under a Labor government and with the blessing of the unions. The Fair Work Act provides unions and employers the ability to make arrangements that can vary penalty rates as long as employees are deemed better off overall when compared to the relevant industry award. Unions such as the AWU and the SDA routinely use the enterprise bargaining system to negotiate changes to penalty rates in return for other trade-offs, such as high base rates of pay, to ensure a win-win result.

Interestingly, small business advocates have warned that this system favours larger employers who can negotiate concessions while leaving smaller employers out in the cold with little leverage to secure their own deals. For example, while the general retail award applying to small business owners sets Sunday rates at double time, the Woolworths national enterprise agreement, negotiated with the SDA and signed in 2012, sets the Sunday rate at time and a half.

We need a system that ensures a level playing field for smaller and larger employers alike; after all, collectively, small business is Australia's largest employer. No-one would ever disagree that there are some services that are absolutely vital to the Australian community. These include, for example, nurses, police, fire fighters, ambulance officers and some service sector employees. These professions require the utmost in professionalism and dedication; our lives are in their hands. I support them receiving appropriate remuneration for the hours that they work.

Small businesses that operate around Australia also rely on their income to support their household budgets. The reality is that there needs to be a fair and equitable payment system that ensures workers are paid appropriately for their time and skill level and ensures that employers are able to run sustainable and productive businesses that can grow and effectively create more employment for the economy.

Our community has a diverse and dynamic make-up that is far from routine. This includes our working community. Whether it is full-time, part-time or casual work in the day time, night time or on weekends, every job undertaken by a member of our community keeps our economy turning and contributes to our way of life. Every job is important. This is why making sure that the appropriate remuneration for skill level and time worked is important. It is imperative that we ensure that any system of employment works for all parties involved, not just those represented by a union thugs.

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