Christian Porter (Pearce, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

The point of the members opposite seems to be that, in the Fair Work Act, there is an existing section, section 189. It is headed: 'The Fair Work Commission may approve an enterprise agreement that does not pass the BOOT'. It's to be used in emergency circumstances. It was put in the Fair Work Act by members opposite. Their killer point is that, in our bill, we're maintaining it and maintaining the protection for the purposes of an emergency, such as COVID, and that no agreement could be approved by the Fair Work Commission if it were contrary to the public interest. The Fair Work Commission has to make a decision that any change is in the public interest. If the change is contrary to the public interest, it would never be approved. That's the test that you put in; that's the test that we support. In the circumstances of COVID, we think that's a sensible test.

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