WORKPLACE RELATIONS AMENDMENT (WORK CHOICES) BILL 2005
In Committee
Senator JOYCE (Queensland) (10.08 p.m.)—My Labor colleagues on the other side keep gilding the lily, getting around the issue and not talking the truth. The truth of this issue is that a penalty is not a right of refusal. What you currently have in place is a penalty rate. That is not a right of refusal. You can be ordered into work on Christmas Day. You do not have a right of refusal. It is the coalition—the National-Liberal coalition—that has managed to enshrine the iconic nature of Christmas Day, Anzac Day, Boxing Day and the Western Tasmanian Show Day—
Interjection
Senator Sterle—And poultry judging day!
Continue
Senator JOYCE—And the poultry judging day of Senator Sterle’s home town. It is quite obvious that a penalty rate, which they want to take us back to, is not a right of refusal. They want to take us back to the days when you could be ordered to go to work on Christmas Day. It is the coalition that is protecting the iconic nature of these days—probably for the first time. They are talking about the reasonableness of refusals; 170AG is really a statement of the obvious reasons you would not want to go to work. We have had to tabulate it but it is really a statement of the obvious. Look at the obvious one—the employee’s personal circumstances. How encompassing can that be? ‘I cannot go to work on Christmas Day because of personal circumstances; 170 AG says that is all I need to say and I have said it.’
Interjection
Senator Wong—It does not say that.
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Senator JOYCE—It says:
170AG Reasonableness of refusal—
I refer you to (e), which says:
(e) the employee’s personal circumstances (including family responsibilities) ...
It is not exclusively family responsibilities but includes family responsibilities. How many more do we want to talk about? Do we want to talk about the nature of the work? I say: ‘Look, I do not think it is necessary for this hamburger shop to be open on Christmas Day. I do not think that is going to save people’s lives.’ There is a range of mechanisms here that are at the discretion of the employee.
If an employee has the capacity to go to work he probably has the capacity to tell his employer that he does not want to work on Christmas Day. Maybe I am jumping to conclusions but I believe that as a human being if God has given you a mouth, ears and a tongue to speak with you have the capacity to say to your employer: ‘I choose not to work on Christmas day.’
That is what we try to do on this side; we try to give you choice. That is what it is about. We protect that choice with legislation. It is amazing to see how many of my Labor colleagues have turned up for this debate that is just ‘tinkering at the edges’. All these people and their advisers are turning up for a debate that is just ‘tinkering at the edges’. They are arguing against us protecting workers on Christmas Day. That is an amazing thing to see. The debate has lost reason and has become rhetoric.
The argument has been won. The coalition has protected the iconic public holidays for probably the first time in history. The amendment reads:
In determining whether an employee has reasonable grounds for refusing a request to work on a public holiday, have regard to:
(a) the nature of the work performed by the employee; and
(b) the type of employment (for example, whether full-time, part-time, casual or shift work); and
(c) the nature of the employer’s workplace or enterprise (including its operational requirements); and
(d) the employee’s reasons for refusing the request; and
(e) the employee’s personal circumstances (including family responsibilities); and
(f) whether the employee is entitled to additional remuneration or other benefits as a consequence of working on the public holiday; and
(g) whether a workplace agreement, award, other industrial instrument, contract of employment or written guideline or policy that regulates the employee’s employment contemplates that the employer might require work on public holidays ...
On and on we go with all these conditions the National-Liberal coalition has put in place that protect the employee.
It is very good to see Senator Boswell here tonight. He has been another key advocate of protecting the iconic nature of Christmas Day, Anzac Day, Boxing Day and Good Friday. They define what the Australian character is. And that is what we are trying to do—put choice back into the definition of what the Australian character is. We will listen to the rest of this debate as the fear of the truth takes the Labor Party to try and gild the lily and say it is something that it is not. It is protection of workers’ rights on these iconic days.