Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Water) Share this | Hansard source

I make two points. Firstly, I would invite honourable senators, if they have not done so, to look at the reports in relation to the comments by Senators Marshall and Campbell. Secondly, I can assure the Senate that we on this side are quite happy to have full and frank exchanges in Senate committee processes—unlike the previous government when they rammed through the Work Choices legislation, as those of us who were here will recall. I also want to make this point: under the system of the previous government, between May and June 2007 a sample of 670 AWAs showed that half of them were between $50 and $199 a week below the required rate. That was allowed; that was perfectly legal under the system that you implemented when in government.