Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Yesterday, when asked about the future of penalty rates, the Prime Minister kindly explained that businesses can currently alter penalty rates in exchange for negotiating increases in workers' overall pay. Given that the Prime Minister recognises that businesses and workers are already able to achieve flexibility within the current workplace system, why is the Prime Minister persisting with a Productivity Commission review of penalty rates? What exactly does the Prime Minister plan to change about the current system?

Natasha Griggs (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And what about the netballers?

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Solomon will cease interjecting.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question and I appreciate his keen interest in penalty rates. But it is not, perhaps, as keen an interest as that of the low-paid cleaners who had the misfortune of being members of his union and who worked for Cleanevent when the honourable member, then the national secretary of the AWU, entered into an agreement with the employer which removed all of the penalty rates—

Ms Plibersek interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Sydney is warned for the last time!

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

for the low-paid cleaners with no compensation, so we have heard. Sorry, Mr Speaker, I must correct myself. There was some compensation. Cleanevent paid the AWU $25,000 a year.

Ms Plibersek interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Sydney will leave under order 94(a) immediately.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It also provided a list of the employees' names to the AWU to add to its membership list.

Ms Plibersek interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Sydney will leave under order 94(a).

The member for Sydney then left the chamber.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Penalty rates are a matter for the Fair Work Commission to determine.

Ms Butler interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Griffith will leave under order 94(a).

The member for Griffith then left the chamber.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Indeed, the only time in Australian history when penalty rates have been lowered was as a result of the review of the Fair Work laws which Labor started while the honourable member, the opposition leader, was the workplace relations minister.

Mr Brendan O'Connor interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Gorton is warned!

Ms Chesters interjecting—

The member for Bendigo is warned!

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Productivity Commission is currently examining this issue as part of its inquiry into the workplace relations framework. If you accept the premise of the Leader of the Opposition's question, penalty rates are apparently something that no-one can ever consider. This is a sort of a no-man's-land—you cannot go there, stay away! This is at odds with what his colleagues have been doing. I have mentioned his own not-especially-distinguished record on penalty rates. Consider the member for Watson and his former union, the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association trade union—

Ms Chesters interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I remind the member for Bendigo that she has been warned.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It has regularly negotiated changes to penalty rates, notably, for example, in the Woolworths enterprise agreement, which does not generally require the employer to pay penalty rates for weekend work. The SDA have done a deal.

I note also some of the remarks on the record. I mentioned the member for Port Adelaide yesterday, but the member for Gorton was so convinced of the correctness of his attack just before Question Time he could not stop laughing while he was speaking. He could see how ridiculous his remarks were.

Nick Champion (Wakefield, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Get your facts right!

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Wakefield is warned!

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He said in January this year, 'I am not suggesting for a moment that there aren't provisions, including penalty rates, that shouldn't be looked at.' Really, the Leader of the Opposition has got to do better than this.