Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

I take the view that this is exactly why people see the coalition as not being fit for government. They do not support penalty rates for workers. They want to attack working people in this country at every opportunity they get. And it's this minister who leads the charge every time she is on her feet—a disgraced minister, a minister who has misled this place at least five times and a minister who has engaged in a cover-up for her office and her actions over the last few weeks. This is a minister who has no credibility. This is a government with no credibility. This is a government that is chewing itself up. This is a government at war with itself. This is a government not fit to govern this country, a government who would attack the poorest people in this country—the working poor who depend on their penalty rates to put food on the table, get the kids off to school and put shoes on their kids' feet. This is a government who are supporting the cuts to penalty rates that allow them to do that. This is a government who deserve absolute condemnation. This is a government who will not last much longer. This is a government who, when we next go to the election, will get thrown out on their neck, because they are divided, they are partisan, they are ideologically driven and they don't have the views and the rights of ordinary working people in this is country at the forefront of their thoughts, ever. They are an absolute disgrace. This bill is so important; it's not a stunt. This is a bill that looks after 700,000 workers who are having their wages cut. This is a bill that ensures that workers can put food on the table, buy their kids some schoolbooks and maybe have a meal out once in a blue moon. Anyone who votes against this is saying to the ordinary working people in this country: 'We do not care for you. We do not care one iota for your welfare, your family.' This is a bad government and the sooner they go the better.