Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

The example given is wrong for two reasons. The first reason is in terms of common interest. To claim that a small shop like that has a common interest with a company like Woolworth really beggars belief. And if that's their concept of what a common interest is then they have no understanding of small business on that side. If their view of small business is, 'Oh, it's just the same as Woolies,' then that's a really extraordinary argument. The other concept, if they paid attention over the weekend, is one of the additional amendments that the government has agreed to as to whether or not businesses are reasonably comparable. So, even if you got over the hurdle—and I don't know logically how you could get over the hurdle—on common interest, to claim that they're somehow reasonably comparable would just a beggar belief.

It's not like the Fair Work Commission is stacked with Labor Party appointees at the moment. That's not exactly who's adjudicating this. But the example given would not pass the common interest test, would not pass the reasonably comparable test but, obviously, would pass the scare campaign test. Keep going, keep shouting at the moon—that's what they're going to do—but anyone who looks at this with common sense could not reach any of the conclusions that those opposite are trying to draw.

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