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

Thank you, Senator Grogan. It's beyond me why Senator Cash and the coalition keep making wild claims about the Dark Ages, empty supermarket shelves, Australia closing down, ending backyard barbecues, ending weekends, ending Christmas, ending April Fool's Day. It doesn't really matter what they say; they'll always make up a new claim. But, as I say, the important point here is that Senator Lambie was on the radio this morning saying that there were only four parts of the government's closing loopholes bill that the opposition was prepared to support. And what that means is that the opposition continues to oppose protecting gig workers. They say no to introducing an industrial manslaughter offence and increasing penalties. They say no to a criminal offence for an employer who deliberately steals their workers' wages. The coalition won't even criminalise employers who deliberately steal wages from their workers. They say no to casuals having a chance at becoming permanent workers, and they say no to closing the loophole that means the agreed pay rates in an enterprise agreement can be undercut using labour hire.