Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Financial Services) Share this | Hansard source

Australian workers' wages are being hammered. Everything is going up, except the wages and incomes of Australian workers. And one of the principal reasons behind that phenomenon is this government's support of cuts to penalty rates for some of the lowest-paid workers in Australia. In Kingsford Smith, over 13,000 workers in the retail, fast-food and hospitality sectors saw their penalty rates cut again on 1 July this year. It's a cruel cut that comes at a time when wages aren't keeping up with the cost of living for many families in our community. And it's not only a blow to them; it's a blow to our national economy as well.

The Reserve Bank, in their latest board minutes, stated that wages growth had remained low overall and GDP growth had been well below the trend over the year to the March quarter. One of the reasons for this was that growth in household disposable income had remained low, and this had contributed to low growth in consumption, which was well below average. So weakness in the Australian economy is further proof of the need for the Liberals to stop these ridiculous cuts to penalty rates.

The recent Deloitte Business Outlook also said that entrenched underperformance of wages under the Liberals isn't going to be disappearing anytime soon. And, as Treasurer and now as Prime Minister, the member for Cook has presided over the lowest wages growth since records began. That's not a record that I would want as a Treasurer or a Prime Minister—the lowest wages growth in Australian history since records began. Is it any wonder that Australian families are struggling and not keeping pace with the cost of living?

And what has been the Liberals' policy response to sluggish wages growth? It has been to further cut penalty rates for some of the most vulnerable workers in our country. Of course, their theory has been that the reduction in penalty rates would generate more jobs in the economy. The theory, as Labor warned, has not been proven. It has actually been proved wrong. The Council of Small Business Australia acknowledge the fact that cutting penalty rates has not created a single job. When the small business community is admitting that cutting penalty rates has not created one single job in the economy, then you have a problem. The chief executive of the Council of Small Business Australia, Peter Strong, is on the record as saying:

There's no extra jobs on a Sunday. There's been no extra hours. Certainly, I don't know anyone (who gave workers extra hours). It's been just a waste of time.

No new jobs, zip, zero, zilch—that's the reason why there's only been one speaker willing to put their name on the list to come in here and defend the cuts to penalty rates. He's the Chair of the Standing Committee on Economics. I wouldn't mind betting that he was forced to come in here and defend the government. Not one other member of the government is willing to stump up here in the Federation Chamber and speak in support of cuts to penalty rates, because they know how unpopular the cuts are in the wider community and that all this is is a shameful attack on Australian workers. It's clear that this was always going to be the case, because this government will always put ideology before evidence.

Penalty rates aren't a luxury. They're a necessity for millions of Australians to cope with the cost of living in this country. These cuts disproportionately affect women, young people and those without a tertiary education. The cuts mean lower wages for those in a job where they rely on penalty rates to make ends meet. Coupled with increasingly insecure work, this is leaving too many Australians struggling to keep pace with the cost of living. It's simply not fair that many are now earning less each Sunday than they would have before 1 July. That's why Labor condemns this government's failure to act and protect penalty rates for millions of Australian workers who rely on them. The government members and senators who called for or supported those cuts to penalty rates stand condemned.

We call on the government to join with us in making a submission to the Fair Work Commission arguing that penalty rates should be reinstated. Reinstated penalty rates would ensure that industries with a low-income and highly casualised workforce allow their workers to be paid a fair amount and, indeed, have more disposable income so that they can invest in our economy and we can begin to grow the economy at a trend rate and create more jobs for Australian workers. These cuts to penalty rates make no sense. It's been proven that they haven't created extra jobs. The government stands condemned for supporting them.

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