Page 861 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 22 March 2017
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The ACT Labor government has a clear view on these changes to penalty rates. I wish, however, I could say the same for the opposition. The Canberra Liberals are all over the place on this issue. I am very interested to hearing the members in this chamber on this. I am looking forward to this debate.
It was not always this way, however; not at all. Last year in this very chamber Mr Hanson, the then leader of the opposition, made a strong statement about the Canberra Liberal’s position on penalty rates. It is worth reflecting on the exact words he used. Mr Hanson said:
Let me repeat this to remove any doubt whatsoever: the Canberra Liberals will not cut penalty rates. We do not support cutting penalty rates and we will oppose cuts to penalty rates for low paid workers in Canberra.
Now this was not some temporary slip. It was not a brief moment of absent mindedness where the Liberals decided they are actually going to support working people. I believe Mr Hanson when he says it.
Brendan Smyth, the then treasury spokesperson for the Canberra Liberals, reaffirmed Mr Hanson’s comments just a few months later. But here is where the confusion sets in. Last year the position was very clear. We have the leader of the party saying that the Canberra Liberals will oppose cuts to penalty rates. We have the treasury spokesperson saying the Canberra Liberals will oppose cuts to penalty rates.
This year, however, we have seen something very different. Following the decision of the Fair Work Commission, Andrew Wall welcomed the penalty rates decision. Mr Wall said online about the decision:
This will create new employment opportunities for many Canberrans, particularly in our growing tourism industry, and make the ACT a more attractive destination in the competitive global market.
Now we have the Liberal industrial relations spokesperson welcoming and praising this decision. If we look to what some of the Canberra Liberals are saying federally, we see similar comments. Zed Seselja is a big supporter of cutting penalty rates. He actually broke ranks from his federal colleagues to get out in front on this issue, to call on the federal government to have the “courage” to dump Sunday penalty rates. I would love to know what is so courageous about cutting the pay of working Canberrans. That is not my idea of courage; that is not my idea of leadership.
The Canberra Liberals’ position on penalty rates is not as clear as it once seemed. So this is my question for the opposition, not just to Mr Coe but to every Liberal MLA: what is your position on penalty rates? Do you believe that retail and hospitality staff are paid too much? Does the burden of business opening hours fall on their shoulders? Do you think that asking the lowest paid workers in our community to work longer hours for the same pay is fair? We on this side of the chamber will always protect the rights of working people. It appears, however, that over on that side they cannot make their minds up.
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