Page 269 - Week 01 - Thursday, 11 February 2016
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in her comments. She moved beyond simply discussing penalty rates. She talked about a range of other issues. What we are talking about here ultimately is low paid workers. I have addressed the issue of penalty rates in detail but exploring the other issues that do affect low paid workers, I think, is relevant to the matter of public importance.
MADAM ASSISTANT SPEAKER: Thank you. I think some of those issues were canvassed in a broad sense by Ms Burch. Mr Hanson, generally I would direct you to think of the relevance to this topic. You have certainly spoken about penalty rates, and I will allow you to go more broadly, but please do not stretch that licence.
MR HANSON: I have probably made my point anyway. I hope that I have. Indeed, our position is clear. We are going to stand up for all of Canberra, and that includes the low paid workers out there across all the suburbs. We will do everything that we can to support our low paid workers. I will finish where I started, by making it very clear that there is no doubt that we will not cut penalty rates.
MR RATTENBURY (Molonglo—Minister for Corrections, Minister for Education, Minister for Justice and Consumer Affairs and Minister for Road Safety) (3.36): I welcome the fact that Ms Burch has brought this topic forward for discussion today; it is an important discussion, one that I know many people in the community have. I have been wondering about it since we saw the Productivity Commission report in recent months.
Penalty rates have been around for 100 years, and they do compensate people for working unsociable hours that many Australians have free. That is really the crux of this. For those who work Monday to Friday, weekends are incredibly valuable. It is where we spend time with friends and family, go out and have fun and do all the things we do not have time to do during the week.
But penalty rates are not just about pay packets; they are also about our ability to balance work and life. Those who do not have that balance because they work unsociable hours in my view should be fairly compensated. I do not believe weekends should end up being treated like every other day of the week or that working at midnight is the same as working at midday.
Workplaces have evolved over time, and we now live in a seven-day-a-week world. However, workers should not be punished just because consumer expectations have changed and people want things seven days a week. Ms Burch made a very good point when she said that if she wants to go out on a Sunday or a Saturday and access certain services, she is willing to pay for that. I think that is fair enough. If you want to be able to access services on a day when others are working what may be considered unsociable hours, having a fair reflection of that in the pay of the people who are having to work is a fair enough thing.
The speed at which the world goes these days sometimes bothers me. Having a day when not everybody has to work is a good thing, and for people who work on those days, a level of compensation is fair enough.
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