Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

It is urgent that we pass these reforms before Christmas because they will be good for workers, they will be good for small businesses and they will be good for the economy. Senator Pocock and Senator Lambie, we all know that you have important decisions to make about this legislation in the coming days, and I encourage you to think about the arguments that we are putting forward and that small businesses are putting forward. Or you can decide to line up with that rabble over there, who want to continue to keep Australia in conflict, with low wages and low productivity.

I know enough about Senator Pocock and Senator Lambie to know that they want to see agreements and they want to see cooperation in workplaces that delivers to businesses and to workers. That is exactly what we are putting forward here. The comments that we saw at the Senate inquiry, made by representatives of childcare centres and representatives of manufacturing industries, indicate that—