Tony Smith (Casey, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the government’s award modernisation program and specifically the new horticulture award which is due to come in on 1 January. This award, if implemented, will have a catastrophic effect on jobs and businesses in the Yarra Valley. The Yarra Valley in the electorate of Casey represents a number of very important horticulture businesses, including raspberries, blackberries and strawberries. In fact, 50 per cent of raspberry and blackberry growers and 45 per cent of strawberry growers in Victoria are in the Yarra Valley.

The draft award that has been released will see businesses hurt and jobs lost. There is no question about it; it will massively jack up the costs for businesses on weekends through the double-time rates that will be required. The upshot of this will be that businesses will not be able to afford to employ workers. There will be less production and, to the extent of that decreased production, there will be higher prices for everyone at the supermarket. This is the sort of thinking that comes from the government. Their plan to help workers and the so-called guarantee from the minister that no worker will be worse off is laughable when you consider the fate of those workers who will be so worse off they will not have a job.

The Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, the Deputy Prime Minister, has at last started to see some of the problems with award modernisation with respect to hospitality, restaurants and catering. I call on her to look at the horticulture industry. The fresh fruit businesses that are the backbone of the Yarra Valley are going to be severely affected unless there is a change, the people who work there will not be working there, and the price of the product will go through the roof and all consumers will pay. This is a lose-lose situation. It is clear that this process should be suspended. We have called for it to be suspended so that the detail can be got right.

In conclusion, I quote Mr Stephen Chapman. He said that berries and cherries have a picking window of two days, which could not be managed around Sunday penalty rates. He says, ‘Sunday is our biggest day, it’s the biggest day for market, which requires fresh fruit on Monday.’