Linda Burney (Barton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Can I congratulate the member for Braddon for bringing this private member's bill to this parliament. We know that, on 23 February this year, the Fair Work Commission made a decision to reduce Sunday and public holiday penalty rates. The ACTU estimates that these workers will lose up to $6,000 per year as a result of that decision. According to the Australian Council of Trade Unions, some 500,000 workers in Australia rely on penalty rates—I think that is the key.

These cuts to penalty rates will hurt families, hurt young people, hurt older Australians, hurt women and hurt people from a non-English-speaking background. They will affect at least 1.2 million people. They will hit the most powerless—their work is not valued. The effect on the economy will be a disaster, as this motion outlines, and families will struggle. We call, as the motion does, on the government to protect take-home pay rates. According to the Australian Work and Life Index, 30 per cent of workers work unsocial hours, 32.2 of workers work weekends, and 18.9 per cent of workers work evenings after 9 pm regularly. That is an important thing to understand.

As has been pointed out, penalty rates will hurt women. Fifty-seven per cent of hospitality workers are women; 62 per cent of retail workers are women; and 85 per cent of pharmaceutical, cosmetic and toiletry goods retail employees are women. They are more likely to be on awards and they are more likely to work part-time, and we already earn less than men do, with 39.3 per cent of women relying on penalty rates compared to 31.5 per cent of men. Cutting penalty rates will only make the gender pay gap worse.

Penalty rates will disastrously affect young people because 59.4 per cent of 18- to 24-year-olds receive and rely on penalty rates, and 42 per cent of 25- to 34-year-olds receive penalty rates. Penalty rates is an important issue for older Australians. Whilst young people are greater recipients of penalty rates, families and older people are more likely to rely on them entirely, with 45.3 per cent of 55- to 64-year-old who receive penalty rates relying on them. Cleaners are going to be really badly affected. Most cleaners—in fact, 33 per cent of commercial cleaners and 24 per cent of domestic cleaners—are from non-English-speaking countries, compared to 16.7 per cent for all occupations. Around four in every 10 cleaners are born overseas.

When you look at those statistics, and recognising what the members from the Labor Party have contributed, it says to me very clearly that this government does not understand empathy or have any empathy for inequality. The Treasurer scoffs, saying there's no such thing as inequality. Obviously, there is not an understanding of that, or this disastrous piece of legislation in relation to penalty rates would not have been brought into this House. The member for Braddon and other members who have spoken understand these issues. As you can hear, they have an understanding of these issues from the people whom we represent. They have an understanding of these issues from the people that we know. They understand these issues because of our life experiences. And I refuse to believe that there are not people on the other side who also think that this is unfair, people who also think and understand that this is going to affect people in a real way, in a way where they will struggle to put food on the table and pay their utility bills. But, like lambs, they just follow on and do as they're told.

There are so many thing coming into the parliament that are bad for this country. It is not who we are. We are a country about fairness. We are a country of egalitarian beliefs. We are a country of equity and belief in equity. The things that this government is bringing in, including the citizenship debate that was concluded today in the House of Representatives, say very clearly that there is no care and no empathy for what Australia stands for, and that's egalitarian values.

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