Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. This morning on Adelaide radio the Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources said:

… the overall decision of this commission, which I have got to say I support being a small business operator.

Prime Minister, have any ministers disclosed potential conflicts of interest in relation to the government's response to this decision as required by the statement of ministerial standards? How many members of the government will profit from the decision to cut the pay of 700,000 Australians?

Mr Pyne interjecting—

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

The Leader of the House will cease interjecting!

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

I am not sure whether the honourable member has caught it up but it was not so long ago that in the disclosure of his superannuation fund he did not bother to actually identify what the fund was. So in terms of complying with disclosure he may want to check that. The reality is that we here on our side of the House stand for enterprise, investment and jobs. We know that small business is the engine room of the economy. That is what we stand for, because we know it is delivering the growth that will deliver jobs.

The honourable member has asked about penalty rates. It is important to bear in mind another example of the Leader of the Opposition trading away penalty rates—in this case, entirely—in an agreement between the AWU and Adecco projects.

Mr Frydenberg interjecting—

Mr Pyne interjecting—

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

The Minister for the Environment and Energy and the Leader of the House will cease interjecting. The Leader of the House is testing my patience.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I appreciate the earlier ruling with respect to when penalty rates are referred to. This question goes to a very specific issue as to whether there is a conflict and whether members of the government are profiting from the response.

Government members interjecting—

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

Members on my right will cease interjecting. I can only say that the first line of the question referred to penalty rates.

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

The group that profited from trading away penalty rates was of course the Australian Workers' Union. They got payments from Cleanevent and other companies again and again. They also profited from getting membership lists.

In the Cirque du Soleil agreement paragraph 4 states the intentions of the parties. This is what they are: 'integrity and dedication'—long known as the hallmark of that union!—'teamwork and effective communication, a productive attitude towards industrial relations and the development of cross-training of the workforce.' Then when you get to paragraph 8 on rates of pay it says: 'The rates contained have been calculated as an all-purpose rate to be used for all hours worked. As such, no additional penalty rates shall be applicable.' There it is. There is no doubt who is responsible. It was signed by the then national secretary of the Australian Workers' Union, the Leader of the Opposition. There it is in his own hand. He traded away penalty rates entirely. He gave them away. He put in his preamble that he was dedicated to integrity and dedication. He certainly was not dedicated to maintaining penalty rates then. When he had the opportunity to protect them, he traded them away. When he had the opposition to state what his position was in respect of the Fair Work Commission, he committed to support its decision, to accept its independence and to stand for the independence of the umpire. Now he has walked away from that. He cannot keep one position for any period of time longer than—(Time expired)