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

If we do not pass Labor's penalty rates bill today, in 10 days 700,000 workers will get a pay cut. On the same day, those that make $1 million a year will get a $16,400 tax cut. It does not stop there. There will be more pay cuts for those workers on 1 July next year, there will be more pay cuts for those workers on 1 July the year after that and also the year after that. Hospitality workers, retail workers and pharmacy workers are the victims of Malcolm Turnbull's indifference and callous disregard for workers.

Mark Coulton (Parkes, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Gorton will refer to members by their titles.

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

The Liberal Party and the National Party show a loathing toward hardworking Australians. The Prime Minister said Labor's defence of workers is the politics of envy. This is not the politics of envy, this is the absence of empathy by the Prime Minister and the government. More workers, hairdressers and club employees will suffer the same way.

We know the Prime Minister likes to pretend he has struggled. He tells people he financially struggled. He has his own log cabin story. The problem is his log cabins were made of gold—his logs were made of bars of gold. That is why he has no understanding of the struggle people will have a result of these pay cuts. But Labor understands and we will defend these workers and ensure that they get their justice.