Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, my question is to the Prime Minister. Linda lives in Katoomba in my electorate. Linda says she works on Sundays as a hotel chef because her rent is more than half her wages and she needs the money. Linda previously relied on Centrelink, but reskilled to become a chef. She is proud she got off Centrelink and into a job. Linda cannot understand why the Turnbull government wants to cut her wages. Why, when the Prime Minister has the power to act, is he refusing to stop Linda's pay cut?

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

I thank the honourable member for her question and for her description of her constituent Linda from Katoomba, who has retrained as a chef. That is a great success on Linda's behalf. I trust the honourable member will be advising her constituent that the decision about penalty rates is not a decision of the government. What the honourable member said in her question is quite misleading. It is a decision of the Fair Work Commission, an independent tribunal established by the honourable member's party, supported by the honourable member's party, endorsed repeatedly by her leader, who lacks both the courage and the courtesy to do anything other than turn his back in this House. He cannot take it. He is back again—that is good. That is good; a bit of common courtesy goes a long way.

The bottom line is it is a decision of an independent tribunal. There are transitional considerations being undertaken, as the Fair Work Commission have described, and they will seek to ensure that all workers covered by these changes will not have a reduction in take-home pay over all, as set out in the report from the paragraph I quoted earlier.

Ms Owens interjecting—

Mr Perrett interjecting—

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

The member for Parramatta and the member for Moreton are once again cautioned. If the volume does not lower, I will be a lowering it very shortly.