Andrew Laming (Bowman, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am rising on behalf of the 1,111 clubs around this country, the 2.4 million visitors to clubs and the 21,000 Australians who work in community clubs. There is a constant Labor Party attack on their great clubs and the completely spurious claim that they are potentially cutting penalty rates. Everyone knows that the fair work decision did not even allow for any changes in penalty rates in the club award. I am asking specifically Don Brown, a state MP in my electorate, why he continues to parade outside our clubs claiming spuriously that penalty rates are under attack.

First of all Mr Brown said he was congratulating clubs for not passing on the penalty rate cuts—when, in fact, no changes in the law had occurred and, therefore, they could not anyway. Then he went to the next community club down the road and engaged in aggressive, illegal behaviour on club premises, threatening patrons on the spurious argument that they are going to cut weekend rates—when again the law prevents them from doing so. We are trying to understand these claims and these attacks on the clubs and, likewise, we are trying to understand how the fake data that he circulated showing spurious wages that libelled Capalaba Sports Club was possibly allowed to be promulgated from his office, what support he has from the Attorney-General, in writing, to conduct these attacks and, lastly, how he can explain the Treasury Casino enterprise bargaining agreement, which leaves workers worse off.