Page 1217 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 6 April 2016
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supplemented by the hours he is rostered to work in the evenings and on weekends. Without these penalty rates, his family would simply not be able to get by. He is not always available to enjoy time with his family on weekends when events such as children’s birthday parties, sporting events or other family occasions are celebrated. He has to sacrifice this time in order to secure a living wage.
Goran and Marija are cleaners. They have known only cleaning work since they first migrated to Australia from Macedonia. They would have liked to have found a better job, but their limited English left them with little choice. When they came to Canberra, they had two young children and three suitcases with their clothes—nothing else. They have worked hard and gone without in order to save enough money to buy their own home. Their children are now going to university but still need to live at home and have the support of their parents. Their house is nearly paid off, but they worry what would happen if the penalty rates that they receive for their evening work and the occasional weekend work are removed. They will not be able to own their own home before they become too sick to continue to work. Goran struggles with back pain and wonders how much longer he will be fit enough to clean. Without penalty rates, Goran and Marija will stand to lose their home and would no longer be able to support their children towards a better life.
Tom, Goran and Marija are not kids earning pocket money; they are members of our community. Their inclusion, and the inclusion of their families, in the benefits and the life of this city relies on penalty rates. They provide them with the chance to not just scrape by, although too many people who do depend on penalty rates do just scrape by. They provide them with compensation for time lost with their friends and loved ones.
I congratulate Mr Hinder on bringing this important issue to the Assembly again today, and I look forward to working with my new Assembly colleague to continue this government’s long record of supporting all Canberrans and building a fairer and more connected community.
DR BOURKE (Ginninderra—Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Minister for Children and Young People, Minister for Disability, Minister for Small Business and the Arts and Minister for Veterans and Seniors) (4.42): I am proud to be part of a government that has made a tangible and positive difference to the ACT’s small business community. This government recognises the critical role that small business plays in our economy, how it is driving economic diversity and how it is reshaping the energy and confidence of our city—a city with ambition.
But the impact of small business on our economy is more than the story of numbers and aggregates. It is the friendly faces at our local shopping centre and business precincts. They are at the forefront of the revitalisation of our major entertainment precincts such as New Action, Braddon and Kingston Foreshore. They are communicating every day what this new Canberra is all about.
As a former small business owner myself, I understand firsthand the challenges in running a small business: the long hours, the upswings and downswings, the impacts on family, but also the great sense of personal satisfaction that comes from running a
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