Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Roberts for his question. Let me begin by responding to the last part of his question and absolutely assure him that of course the government is prepared to engage in constructive discussions and negotiation with him and his colleague Senator Hanson, and with all members of the chamber, on these matters. Of course we are, as we have done in the past on a whole range of pieces of legislation, and we continue to do.

It would seem, Senator Roberts, that we do have a different view about the implications in relation to the better off overall test in the legislation. I've noted your view. I think, however, there are, outside this chamber, and perhaps inside in some cases, a number of false claims being made about the proposed changes to the better off overall test under the enterprise bargaining framework. For example, there have been suggestions that we are removing the better off overall test. That is not the case. The bill does not remove the test. In fact, enterprise agreements will continue to leave workers better off than they would be under the relevant award. That's one of the reasons that the bill is making enterprise bargaining easier—so that more agreements are able to be made and more workers are left better off. We see that the changes we're making to the better off overall test will ensure that the Fair Work Commission gives significant weight to the views of the parties—that it considers actual and reasonably foreseeable work arrangements, not hypothetical ones, and it considers the overall benefits to workers.

What the bill also does is to build on the existing public interest exception to the better off overall test, which has actually been in Commonwealth industrial legislation for decades, including in the Fair Work Act, which was, of course, introduced by those opposite. This longstanding exception only applies in exceptional circumstances and where it's not contrary to the public interest. It's not a provision that's used very often, but it is sometimes necessary to save a business and protect jobs during a short-term crisis. The bill—