Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Hansard source

Absolutely. Unfortunately, Senator Campbell spent quite some time seeking to highlight by implication and innuendo the disadvantage a 16-year-old would face. What Senator Campbell has not caught up with was the fact that, some 15 months ago, the Howard government changed the law to protect those 16-year-olds—protection which, over a century of trade unionism in this country, had not been afforded those 16-year-olds. Do I get excited when those opposite misrepresent this government? Yes, I do, for very good reason. Could I return the compliment to Senator Campbell and suggest that, hypothetically, I am not a 16-year-old but in fact an 18-year-old and I happen to work for an employment agency. They often need a common law contract of employment, and they tell me that it is fair to pay me an extra 45c per hour in exchange for all my award entitlements. Who checks this? Who independently tells me that it is fair? I trust it will not be the Leader of the Opposition.