Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

With regard to those comments made by Senator Sterle earlier—that One Nation voted for cuts to penalty rates—I want to put on the record here that, in March 2017, One Nation actually supported the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Take-Home Pay) Bill 2017, a bill by Senators Cameron, Di Natale and Lambie. The bill summary states:

The Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Take-Home Pay) Bill 2017 will ensure that modern awards cannot be varied to reduce penalty rates or the hours to which penalty rates apply if the variation is likely to result in a reduction in the take-home pay of an employee.

Further, the bill:

… provides that any determination of the Fair Work Commission made on or after 22 February 2017 … is of no effect.

Even at that time, Senator Roberts, the One Nation senator for Queensland, tried to move an amendment to that to restore penalty rates to fast-food and hospitality workers. He was denied leave to move that. These penalty rates were actually introduced in the first place by Bill Shorten, the opposition leader, in the lower house. He destroyed the penalty rates when he was a union leader.

I am so annoyed that One Nation is continually accused of voting against penalty rates and cuts to penalty rates, which was not the case when we voted with Labor on their bill here in this parliament. I just wanted to put that on the record. Thank you.