Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Those on the other side want to try to distract attention from the fact that they actually don't want wages to increase, as demonstrated by the last 10 years. They have focused a lot on small business and a lot on a scare campaign which Senator Watt has very effectively shot down in this chamber.

I would remind those opposite that rates of bargaining for small businesses have dropped by over 60 per cent between 2010 and this year—that was under you. Unlike you, we think it's a good thing to support small business participating in bargaining if they want to. Why? Because bargaining can help make a business more productive and flexible. That's why we have the co-operative workplaces bargaining stream, which is especially relevant to small business. It ensures that business can opt in to relevant agreements negotiated by their industry associations. Of course, we will provide funding to the Fair Work Commission to provide small business bargaining support. You pretend to be the friends of small business— (Time expired)