Justine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to talk about the fact that penalty rates are, again, under attack from the Liberal-Nationals government. This all results from the recent review of workplace relations conducted by the Productivity Commission. This review shows us that the Abbott government is determined to bring back Work Choices—that is, in fact, their agenda. They have been looking to take us back to the harsh, cruel days of Work Choices.

The report makes a number of recommendations, including a two-tier penalty rate system. One group of workers will have their wages cut—the hospitality and retail workers—and, after that, we know that this government will move onto the next group of workers—the nurses, firefighters and emergency service workers. In my electorate, in Richmond, on the New South Wales North Coast, the National Party has a long history of cutting penalty rates and workers' take-home pay. But Labor will continue to fight these unfair changes and will not support a two-tier penalty rate system. We will support locals against the National Party's attempts to cut their pay.

Many locals in my area are employed in the hospitality and retail sector, and they and their families rely on penalty rates to make ends meet. It is not just the workers who are impacted by cutting their pay, these are the people who are also the customers of other businesses—so the whole economy will suffer.

Rather than a race to the bottom on wages, Labor believes the government should focus on jobs and economic growth. It should be investing in skills, training, infrastructure and innovation. That should be its direction, not cutting penalty rates.