Kim Beazley (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer to 19-year-old Shane Denning from Penrith, New South Wales, who is in the gallery today. He was contracted to do warehouse and delivery work for Cabramatta company BM Sydney Building Materials at a rate of pay of $10.20 per hour. Is the Prime Minister aware that the applicable hourly award rate in New South Wales for an employee doing the same work that Shane was contracted to do is $14.80? Doesn’t this mean that had Shane been employed under the award instead of engaged as a contractor he would have been paid $240 a week more, working the 45 hours he was contracted for? Prime Minister, doesn’t your independent contractors legislation just mean more people like Shane will be forced onto sham contracts and be worse off?

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Generally speaking, no.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The Prime Minister has the call.

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In relation to the particular circumstances of the young man mentioned by the Leader of the Opposition, if all of the details relating to him are supplied to me I will naturally investigate it, as I do and as I did—whilst I am on my feet—with a case put to me yesterday by the member for Prospect. I did undertake to get back to the member for Prospect, and I now do that, if I may be allowed to do so.

Yesterday the member for Prospect asked a question on an alleged termination of a worker in Sydney. He asked whether I was aware that Mr Majstrovic was terminated after lodging a workers compensation claim, whether the company was trying to avoid unfair dismissal and whether I was aware that the employee only received one week’s salary as compensation. I am advised that Mr Majstrovic was made redundant along with 41 other staff during July and August because of a downturn in work. I am further advised that this was not related to a workers compensation claim. Additionally, I am advised that Mr Majstrovic, rather than receiving only one week’s compensation, is actually entitled to over $10,000 in compensation for being made redundant. In addition, the House might want to note that the member for Prospect also failed to mention in his question that the CFMEU has already lodged unfair dismissal and unlawful termination action challenging the redundancy claims in the AIRC for Mr Majstrovic and other workers. Finally, I understand that the company is taking defamation action against the CFMEU in relation to the matter. The Labor Party should really start addressing facts rather than asking questions with half-truths in question time.