Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation. Will the minister outline for the House the government's latest plans for including flexibility in the workplace, particularly for parents? Does the minister expect any obstacles to implementing these plans?

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Shortland for her question. She takes a great interest in the working conditions of working Australians. In fact, all this week, I can report to the House, Labor has been up-front about its workplace relations policy.

We have been up-front about our desire to improve flexibility for Australian workers. We have been up-front about our desire to improve harmonious workplace relationships so we can build jobs and growth in Australia.

So I am pleased to advise the House, and the people listening to parliament, that today—yet again—the Gillard Labor government is going to assist the parents of newborn children; we are going to assist pregnant workers with changes to ensure better workplaces for Australia. We shall increase the amount of unpaid parental leave that parents are entitled to take together from three to eight weeks. Members of the House, that is flexibility. We shall support parents to choose when they can take unpaid parental leave together. That is flexibility. We shall support pregnant women at work by ensuring that they can transfer to a safe job regardless of their length of service. We shall ensure that women who need to take unpaid special maternity leave are not penalised by a decrease in the leave that they are eligible for after the baby is born.

Members of the House, this is flexibility; this is supporting women to participate in the economy, and this is supporting better workplaces. Labor understands what it means to make a modern workplace, fit for modern families. We understand that pregnant women should be entitled to safe jobs. We understand that you should not suffer disadvantage if you are sick while you are pregnant. We understand that dads want to spend more time with their families. In fact, all this week we have been standing up front revealing our policies, revealing our plans. We can do this, because we have a plan that is positive for Australian workers. We can do this all week, unlike those opposite, because you do not have a plan for workplace relations in Australia. Your plan for workplace relations is to cut penalty rates, to cut shift loadings. Your plan, as we have seen—

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister should desist from using the word 'you'.

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They have said that they do not want us to help victims of workplace bullying through amending the Fair Work Act. I think it is time for the opposition to come clean and be up-front about their workplace relations policy, because until you do there is no way that working Australians will ever trust you on workplace relations.

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I do remind everybody that the use of the word 'you' is highly inappropriate.