Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Some members will be aware that just before we started question time today, Justice Iain Ross, the president of the Fair Work Commission, who served in that role for more than 10 years, gave notice of his resignation to the Governor-General, which will be effective on midnight Friday 18 November. I had a chance just before question time to talk to Justice Ross and reflect on his service to governments from both sides of politics over that decade and his extraordinary work in the service of the Fair Work Commission.

In only recent years alone, he was responsible for the changes to horticultural law to remove some of those piecework provisions where people were being paid wages as low as $4 a day. He laid the groundwork for what became this parliament's legislation on family and domestic violence leave. He was responsible for overseeing the 5.2 per cent pay increase and the 15 per cent increase in aged care that've been spoken about today. He also, only last Friday, released a statement on the gender undervaluation in feminised industries, with the gender pay gap still sitting at 14 per cent.

He has served the role in the Fair Work Commission for 10 years with absolute integrity and solid service. Working people in Australia are better off as a result of his service.