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

Why would they not support that? Why would they not support proper civil penalties for wage underpayments? Why would they not support the first-ever criminal offence for wage theft? Why would they not support increased penalties for sham contracting? Those become very, very interesting questions in the context of the member for Watson recently saying this: 'Vulnerable workers getting their money back quickly has to be the highest priority.'

No-one here can find a single valid reason for why you wouldn't support the first-ever criminal penalty for wage theft, why you wouldn't support civil penalties to stamp out underpayment or why you wouldn't do something as practical and pragmatic as having a small-claims stream for wage underpayment. Yet members opposite now say they'll oppose all of those things but are without a reason for opposing them—other than the fact that, as part of their political strategy, they are willing to have those workers end up as, in their own words, 'collateral damage'.

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