❓ A parliamentary question regarding the Howard government's industrial relations laws, focusing on confusion, apprentice dismissals, and a workplace death, framed with strong criticism and accusations of being 'un-Australian'.
AnsweredQoN 167Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
FEDERAL INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS LAWS
Will the minister please advise the house on the latest confusion arising from the Howard government’s 600-page extremist industrial laws? Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH
Will the minister please advise the house on the latest confusion arising from the Howard government’s 600-page extremist industrial laws? Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Riverton for the question. It is a tragedy that, at a time when the nation is suffering from a massive skills shortage and when governments of all political persuasions have ignored training for the past 20 years, we are at a stage when we need to produce skilled tradespeople in Western Australia. An opposition member: That’s rubbish! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : It is not rubbish at all. It is a fact of life that there are not enough skilled tradespeople in Australia. The opposition’s federal colleagues are driving the importation of skills, which was publicly announced less than 12 months ago at 50 000 people, publicly announced eight months ago at 70 000 people and unannounced last month at 110 000 people. Several weeks ago I received a letter from Amanda Vanstone telling me that by Christmas she wants to import the skills of 170 000 people by the end of the year. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : However, it is a further tragedy that not only have we not trained enough tradespeople, but also under the federal government’s new industrial relations legislation there is utter confusion in the workplace among both industry leaders and politicians following the sorts of events that have happened in the past few days. Apprentices in South Australia were dismissed last week, on day one of the commencement of this federal legislation. What happened on day one? The federal Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Mr Andrews - when confronted with apprentices being sacked and when we are trying to encourage kids in schools to take on apprenticeships - came out and said that the legislation was not meant to be applied in that way. He said that he was the federal minister and knew his laws and that this law was not meant to be applied in that way. What happened on the same day? Group Training Australia, one of the largest employers of apprentices in Australia, said that the minister was not wrong. It issued a statement, and my note of it reads - All State laws relating to trainees and apprentices that also cover employment arrangements and conditions will no longer have any effect for businesses covered by the federal industrial relations system. So here we are with a document put together by the likes of the Green Building Council of Australia, which is obviously out of touch with most of its membership. Here we are with a federal government absolutely driven by a hatred of workers being represented, that does what on day one? It does not shoot Kevin Reynolds; it does not remove Joe McDonald; it shoots apprentices! That is what it does: shoots apprentices. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : The document sets out to put 18-year-olds in its sight and it says to those 18-year-olds, who are going through a training system and bringing much-needed skills to Australia, that they would be the first people it would assassinate. That is an absolute un-Australian disgrace. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : If it was the only mistake in the past week, I could probably forgive that, as Easter is coming on. This is a time of forgiveness. I even intend to forgive most members opposite, with Easter coming on! I am going to keep a special place in my heart for some members opposite; however, I will not be able, even with Easter, to forgive this. What else did we see? A colleague of Victorian workers on a building site was killed on the building site. On the day their colleague was killed the workers had a stop-work meeting to have a whip-round to raise money for his widow. Everybody agreed to stop for 20 minutes and there was no argument from the bosses. The stoppage took 20 minutes - it was not an industrial dispute by any definition - to have a whip-round to pay for a funeral and to put some money into the hands of a widow. What happened? The employer sacked them. When confronted by the issue only days after the introduction of the new federal IR legislation, the employer said that he had no other choice and that the federal agreement told him that he must sack them. Again, Andrews had to come out and say that they had got it all wrong and that the legislation was not meant to be used in that way. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : We are now into day three of this legislation. Day one - shoot apprentices; day two - assassinate the widow and the family. This is how members of the federal government think. This is what their game is. This will all unfold. They are like a flower opening up at dawn: when they are in full bloom, the whole of Australia will be able to see them for what they are. They are a terrible weed. They ought to be eradicated. It goes on. This is what happened under this legislation on day four: Optus sacked 70 full-time workers and said that they could have their jobs back if they returned to Optus as independent contractors. Again, the federal minister said that the legislation was not meant to be used like that. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Then, just to make sure that we go right back to the Dark Ages, how does this IR document finish up? Every Australian worker, unless he or she earns more than $250 000 a year - Mr Andrews has allowed some sort of leeway - will be back on the punch card. People will have to clock on in the morning and clock off at night. The legislation says that the working hours of every employee must be logged to ensure that companies meet the minimum conditions for workers averaging a 38-hour week. That means you lot - reporters in the press gallery. Peter, log on! The legislation says that anybody who is not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket - Peter, you are not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket that I am aware of - will have to log on and companies will have to ensure that they meet the minimum conditions of workers averaging a 38-hour week. Why would companies want employees to log on? It is because penalties attach to any stop-work meeting. The rule is that anyone who stops work for 15 minutes will have four hours’ pay docked and will be expected to be back at work within the four hours working for nothing. I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH replied: I thank the member for Riverton for the question. It is a tragedy that, at a time when the nation is suffering from a massive skills shortage and when governments of all political persuasions have ignored training for the past 20 years, we are at a stage when we need to produce skilled tradespeople in Western Australia. An opposition member: That’s rubbish! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : It is not rubbish at all. It is a fact of life that there are not enough skilled tradespeople in Australia. The opposition’s federal colleagues are driving the importation of skills, which was publicly announced less than 12 months ago at 50 000 people, publicly announced eight months ago at 70 000 people and unannounced last month at 110 000 people. Several weeks ago I received a letter from Amanda Vanstone telling me that by Christmas she wants to import the skills of 170 000 people by the end of the year. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : However, it is a further tragedy that not only have we not trained enough tradespeople, but also under the federal government’s new industrial relations legislation there is utter confusion in the workplace among both industry leaders and politicians following the sorts of events that have happened in the past few days. Apprentices in South Australia were dismissed last week, on day one of the commencement of this federal legislation. What happened on day one? The federal Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Mr Andrews - when confronted with apprentices being sacked and when we are trying to encourage kids in schools to take on apprenticeships - came out and said that the legislation was not meant to be applied in that way. He said that he was the federal minister and knew his laws and that this law was not meant to be applied in that way. What happened on the same day? Group Training Australia, one of the largest employers of apprentices in Australia, said that the minister was not wrong. It issued a statement, and my note of it reads - All State laws relating to trainees and apprentices that also cover employment arrangements and conditions will no longer have any effect for businesses covered by the federal industrial relations system. So here we are with a document put together by the likes of the Green Building Council of Australia, which is obviously out of touch with most of its membership. Here we are with a federal government absolutely driven by a hatred of workers being represented, that does what on day one? It does not shoot Kevin Reynolds; it does not remove Joe McDonald; it shoots apprentices! That is what it does: shoots apprentices. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : The document sets out to put 18-year-olds in its sight and it says to those 18-year-olds, who are going through a training system and bringing much-needed skills to Australia, that they would be the first people it would assassinate. That is an absolute un-Australian disgrace. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : If it was the only mistake in the past week, I could probably forgive that, as Easter is coming on. This is a time of forgiveness. I even intend to forgive most members opposite, with Easter coming on! I am going to keep a special place in my heart for some members opposite; however, I will not be able, even with Easter, to forgive this. What else did we see? A colleague of Victorian workers on a building site was killed on the building site. On the day their colleague was killed the workers had a stop-work meeting to have a whip-round to raise money for his widow. Everybody agreed to stop for 20 minutes and there was no argument from the bosses. The stoppage took 20 minutes - it was not an industrial dispute by any definition - to have a whip-round to pay for a funeral and to put some money into the hands of a widow. What happened? The employer sacked them. When confronted by the issue only days after the introduction of the new federal IR legislation, the employer said that he had no other choice and that the federal agreement told him that he must sack them. Again, Andrews had to come out and say that they had got it all wrong and that the legislation was not meant to be used in that way. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : We are now into day three of this legislation. Day one - shoot apprentices; day two - assassinate the widow and the family. This is how members of the federal government think. This is what their game is. This will all unfold. They are like a flower opening up at dawn: when they are in full bloom, the whole of Australia will be able to see them for what they are. They are a terrible weed. They ought to be eradicated. It goes on. This is what happened under this legislation on day four: Optus sacked 70 full-time workers and said that they could have their jobs back if they returned to Optus as independent contractors. Again, the federal minister said that the legislation was not meant to be used like that. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Then, just to make sure that we go right back to the Dark Ages, how does this IR document finish up? Every Australian worker, unless he or she earns more than $250 000 a year - Mr Andrews has allowed some sort of leeway - will be back on the punch card. People will have to clock on in the morning and clock off at night. The legislation says that the working hours of every employee must be logged to ensure that companies meet the minimum conditions for workers averaging a 38-hour week. That means you lot - reporters in the press gallery. Peter, log on! The legislation says that anybody who is not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket - Peter, you are not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket that I am aware of - will have to log on and companies will have to ensure that they meet the minimum conditions of workers averaging a 38-hour week. Why would companies want employees to log on? It is because penalties attach to any stop-work meeting. The rule is that anyone who stops work for 15 minutes will have four hours’ pay docked and will be expected to be back at work within the four hours working for nothing. I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
I thank the member for Riverton for the question. It is a tragedy that, at a time when the nation is suffering from a massive skills shortage and when governments of all political persuasions have ignored training for the past 20 years, we are at a stage when we need to produce skilled tradespeople in Western Australia. An opposition member: That’s rubbish! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : It is not rubbish at all. It is a fact of life that there are not enough skilled tradespeople in Australia. The opposition’s federal colleagues are driving the importation of skills, which was publicly announced less than 12 months ago at 50 000 people, publicly announced eight months ago at 70 000 people and unannounced last month at 110 000 people. Several weeks ago I received a letter from Amanda Vanstone telling me that by Christmas she wants to import the skills of 170 000 people by the end of the year. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : However, it is a further tragedy that not only have we not trained enough tradespeople, but also under the federal government’s new industrial relations legislation there is utter confusion in the workplace among both industry leaders and politicians following the sorts of events that have happened in the past few days. Apprentices in South Australia were dismissed last week, on day one of the commencement of this federal legislation. What happened on day one? The federal Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Mr Andrews - when confronted with apprentices being sacked and when we are trying to encourage kids in schools to take on apprenticeships - came out and said that the legislation was not meant to be applied in that way. He said that he was the federal minister and knew his laws and that this law was not meant to be applied in that way. What happened on the same day? Group Training Australia, one of the largest employers of apprentices in Australia, said that the minister was not wrong. It issued a statement, and my note of it reads - All State laws relating to trainees and apprentices that also cover employment arrangements and conditions will no longer have any effect for businesses covered by the federal industrial relations system. So here we are with a document put together by the likes of the Green Building Council of Australia, which is obviously out of touch with most of its membership. Here we are with a federal government absolutely driven by a hatred of workers being represented, that does what on day one? It does not shoot Kevin Reynolds; it does not remove Joe McDonald; it shoots apprentices! That is what it does: shoots apprentices. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : The document sets out to put 18-year-olds in its sight and it says to those 18-year-olds, who are going through a training system and bringing much-needed skills to Australia, that they would be the first people it would assassinate. That is an absolute un-Australian disgrace. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : If it was the only mistake in the past week, I could probably forgive that, as Easter is coming on. This is a time of forgiveness. I even intend to forgive most members opposite, with Easter coming on! I am going to keep a special place in my heart for some members opposite; however, I will not be able, even with Easter, to forgive this. What else did we see? A colleague of Victorian workers on a building site was killed on the building site. On the day their colleague was killed the workers had a stop-work meeting to have a whip-round to raise money for his widow. Everybody agreed to stop for 20 minutes and there was no argument from the bosses. The stoppage took 20 minutes - it was not an industrial dispute by any definition - to have a whip-round to pay for a funeral and to put some money into the hands of a widow. What happened? The employer sacked them. When confronted by the issue only days after the introduction of the new federal IR legislation, the employer said that he had no other choice and that the federal agreement told him that he must sack them. Again, Andrews had to come out and say that they had got it all wrong and that the legislation was not meant to be used in that way. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : We are now into day three of this legislation. Day one - shoot apprentices; day two - assassinate the widow and the family. This is how members of the federal government think. This is what their game is. This will all unfold. They are like a flower opening up at dawn: when they are in full bloom, the whole of Australia will be able to see them for what they are. They are a terrible weed. They ought to be eradicated. It goes on. This is what happened under this legislation on day four: Optus sacked 70 full-time workers and said that they could have their jobs back if they returned to Optus as independent contractors. Again, the federal minister said that the legislation was not meant to be used like that. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Then, just to make sure that we go right back to the Dark Ages, how does this IR document finish up? Every Australian worker, unless he or she earns more than $250 000 a year - Mr Andrews has allowed some sort of leeway - will be back on the punch card. People will have to clock on in the morning and clock off at night. The legislation says that the working hours of every employee must be logged to ensure that companies meet the minimum conditions for workers averaging a 38-hour week. That means you lot - reporters in the press gallery. Peter, log on! The legislation says that anybody who is not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket - Peter, you are not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket that I am aware of - will have to log on and companies will have to ensure that they meet the minimum conditions of workers averaging a 38-hour week. Why would companies want employees to log on? It is because penalties attach to any stop-work meeting. The rule is that anyone who stops work for 15 minutes will have four hours’ pay docked and will be expected to be back at work within the four hours working for nothing. I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
An opposition member: That’s rubbish! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : It is not rubbish at all. It is a fact of life that there are not enough skilled tradespeople in Australia. The opposition’s federal colleagues are driving the importation of skills, which was publicly announced less than 12 months ago at 50 000 people, publicly announced eight months ago at 70 000 people and unannounced last month at 110 000 people. Several weeks ago I received a letter from Amanda Vanstone telling me that by Christmas she wants to import the skills of 170 000 people by the end of the year. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : However, it is a further tragedy that not only have we not trained enough tradespeople, but also under the federal government’s new industrial relations legislation there is utter confusion in the workplace among both industry leaders and politicians following the sorts of events that have happened in the past few days. Apprentices in South Australia were dismissed last week, on day one of the commencement of this federal legislation. What happened on day one? The federal Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Mr Andrews - when confronted with apprentices being sacked and when we are trying to encourage kids in schools to take on apprenticeships - came out and said that the legislation was not meant to be applied in that way. He said that he was the federal minister and knew his laws and that this law was not meant to be applied in that way. What happened on the same day? Group Training Australia, one of the largest employers of apprentices in Australia, said that the minister was not wrong. It issued a statement, and my note of it reads - All State laws relating to trainees and apprentices that also cover employment arrangements and conditions will no longer have any effect for businesses covered by the federal industrial relations system. So here we are with a document put together by the likes of the Green Building Council of Australia, which is obviously out of touch with most of its membership. Here we are with a federal government absolutely driven by a hatred of workers being represented, that does what on day one? It does not shoot Kevin Reynolds; it does not remove Joe McDonald; it shoots apprentices! That is what it does: shoots apprentices. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : The document sets out to put 18-year-olds in its sight and it says to those 18-year-olds, who are going through a training system and bringing much-needed skills to Australia, that they would be the first people it would assassinate. That is an absolute un-Australian disgrace. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : If it was the only mistake in the past week, I could probably forgive that, as Easter is coming on. This is a time of forgiveness. I even intend to forgive most members opposite, with Easter coming on! I am going to keep a special place in my heart for some members opposite; however, I will not be able, even with Easter, to forgive this. What else did we see? A colleague of Victorian workers on a building site was killed on the building site. On the day their colleague was killed the workers had a stop-work meeting to have a whip-round to raise money for his widow. Everybody agreed to stop for 20 minutes and there was no argument from the bosses. The stoppage took 20 minutes - it was not an industrial dispute by any definition - to have a whip-round to pay for a funeral and to put some money into the hands of a widow. What happened? The employer sacked them. When confronted by the issue only days after the introduction of the new federal IR legislation, the employer said that he had no other choice and that the federal agreement told him that he must sack them. Again, Andrews had to come out and say that they had got it all wrong and that the legislation was not meant to be used in that way. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : We are now into day three of this legislation. Day one - shoot apprentices; day two - assassinate the widow and the family. This is how members of the federal government think. This is what their game is. This will all unfold. They are like a flower opening up at dawn: when they are in full bloom, the whole of Australia will be able to see them for what they are. They are a terrible weed. They ought to be eradicated. It goes on. This is what happened under this legislation on day four: Optus sacked 70 full-time workers and said that they could have their jobs back if they returned to Optus as independent contractors. Again, the federal minister said that the legislation was not meant to be used like that. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Then, just to make sure that we go right back to the Dark Ages, how does this IR document finish up? Every Australian worker, unless he or she earns more than $250 000 a year - Mr Andrews has allowed some sort of leeway - will be back on the punch card. People will have to clock on in the morning and clock off at night. The legislation says that the working hours of every employee must be logged to ensure that companies meet the minimum conditions for workers averaging a 38-hour week. That means you lot - reporters in the press gallery. Peter, log on! The legislation says that anybody who is not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket - Peter, you are not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket that I am aware of - will have to log on and companies will have to ensure that they meet the minimum conditions of workers averaging a 38-hour week. Why would companies want employees to log on? It is because penalties attach to any stop-work meeting. The rule is that anyone who stops work for 15 minutes will have four hours’ pay docked and will be expected to be back at work within the four hours working for nothing. I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : It is not rubbish at all. It is a fact of life that there are not enough skilled tradespeople in Australia. The opposition’s federal colleagues are driving the importation of skills, which was publicly announced less than 12 months ago at 50 000 people, publicly announced eight months ago at 70 000 people and unannounced last month at 110 000 people. Several weeks ago I received a letter from Amanda Vanstone telling me that by Christmas she wants to import the skills of 170 000 people by the end of the year. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : However, it is a further tragedy that not only have we not trained enough tradespeople, but also under the federal government’s new industrial relations legislation there is utter confusion in the workplace among both industry leaders and politicians following the sorts of events that have happened in the past few days. Apprentices in South Australia were dismissed last week, on day one of the commencement of this federal legislation. What happened on day one? The federal Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Mr Andrews - when confronted with apprentices being sacked and when we are trying to encourage kids in schools to take on apprenticeships - came out and said that the legislation was not meant to be applied in that way. He said that he was the federal minister and knew his laws and that this law was not meant to be applied in that way. What happened on the same day? Group Training Australia, one of the largest employers of apprentices in Australia, said that the minister was not wrong. It issued a statement, and my note of it reads - All State laws relating to trainees and apprentices that also cover employment arrangements and conditions will no longer have any effect for businesses covered by the federal industrial relations system. So here we are with a document put together by the likes of the Green Building Council of Australia, which is obviously out of touch with most of its membership. Here we are with a federal government absolutely driven by a hatred of workers being represented, that does what on day one? It does not shoot Kevin Reynolds; it does not remove Joe McDonald; it shoots apprentices! That is what it does: shoots apprentices. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : The document sets out to put 18-year-olds in its sight and it says to those 18-year-olds, who are going through a training system and bringing much-needed skills to Australia, that they would be the first people it would assassinate. That is an absolute un-Australian disgrace. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : If it was the only mistake in the past week, I could probably forgive that, as Easter is coming on. This is a time of forgiveness. I even intend to forgive most members opposite, with Easter coming on! I am going to keep a special place in my heart for some members opposite; however, I will not be able, even with Easter, to forgive this. What else did we see? A colleague of Victorian workers on a building site was killed on the building site. On the day their colleague was killed the workers had a stop-work meeting to have a whip-round to raise money for his widow. Everybody agreed to stop for 20 minutes and there was no argument from the bosses. The stoppage took 20 minutes - it was not an industrial dispute by any definition - to have a whip-round to pay for a funeral and to put some money into the hands of a widow. What happened? The employer sacked them. When confronted by the issue only days after the introduction of the new federal IR legislation, the employer said that he had no other choice and that the federal agreement told him that he must sack them. Again, Andrews had to come out and say that they had got it all wrong and that the legislation was not meant to be used in that way. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : We are now into day three of this legislation. Day one - shoot apprentices; day two - assassinate the widow and the family. This is how members of the federal government think. This is what their game is. This will all unfold. They are like a flower opening up at dawn: when they are in full bloom, the whole of Australia will be able to see them for what they are. They are a terrible weed. They ought to be eradicated. It goes on. This is what happened under this legislation on day four: Optus sacked 70 full-time workers and said that they could have their jobs back if they returned to Optus as independent contractors. Again, the federal minister said that the legislation was not meant to be used like that. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Then, just to make sure that we go right back to the Dark Ages, how does this IR document finish up? Every Australian worker, unless he or she earns more than $250 000 a year - Mr Andrews has allowed some sort of leeway - will be back on the punch card. People will have to clock on in the morning and clock off at night. The legislation says that the working hours of every employee must be logged to ensure that companies meet the minimum conditions for workers averaging a 38-hour week. That means you lot - reporters in the press gallery. Peter, log on! The legislation says that anybody who is not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket - Peter, you are not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket that I am aware of - will have to log on and companies will have to ensure that they meet the minimum conditions of workers averaging a 38-hour week. Why would companies want employees to log on? It is because penalties attach to any stop-work meeting. The rule is that anyone who stops work for 15 minutes will have four hours’ pay docked and will be expected to be back at work within the four hours working for nothing. I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : However, it is a further tragedy that not only have we not trained enough tradespeople, but also under the federal government’s new industrial relations legislation there is utter confusion in the workplace among both industry leaders and politicians following the sorts of events that have happened in the past few days. Apprentices in South Australia were dismissed last week, on day one of the commencement of this federal legislation. What happened on day one? The federal Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Mr Andrews - when confronted with apprentices being sacked and when we are trying to encourage kids in schools to take on apprenticeships - came out and said that the legislation was not meant to be applied in that way. He said that he was the federal minister and knew his laws and that this law was not meant to be applied in that way. What happened on the same day? Group Training Australia, one of the largest employers of apprentices in Australia, said that the minister was not wrong. It issued a statement, and my note of it reads - All State laws relating to trainees and apprentices that also cover employment arrangements and conditions will no longer have any effect for businesses covered by the federal industrial relations system. So here we are with a document put together by the likes of the Green Building Council of Australia, which is obviously out of touch with most of its membership. Here we are with a federal government absolutely driven by a hatred of workers being represented, that does what on day one? It does not shoot Kevin Reynolds; it does not remove Joe McDonald; it shoots apprentices! That is what it does: shoots apprentices. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : The document sets out to put 18-year-olds in its sight and it says to those 18-year-olds, who are going through a training system and bringing much-needed skills to Australia, that they would be the first people it would assassinate. That is an absolute un-Australian disgrace. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : If it was the only mistake in the past week, I could probably forgive that, as Easter is coming on. This is a time of forgiveness. I even intend to forgive most members opposite, with Easter coming on! I am going to keep a special place in my heart for some members opposite; however, I will not be able, even with Easter, to forgive this. What else did we see? A colleague of Victorian workers on a building site was killed on the building site. On the day their colleague was killed the workers had a stop-work meeting to have a whip-round to raise money for his widow. Everybody agreed to stop for 20 minutes and there was no argument from the bosses. The stoppage took 20 minutes - it was not an industrial dispute by any definition - to have a whip-round to pay for a funeral and to put some money into the hands of a widow. What happened? The employer sacked them. When confronted by the issue only days after the introduction of the new federal IR legislation, the employer said that he had no other choice and that the federal agreement told him that he must sack them. Again, Andrews had to come out and say that they had got it all wrong and that the legislation was not meant to be used in that way. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : We are now into day three of this legislation. Day one - shoot apprentices; day two - assassinate the widow and the family. This is how members of the federal government think. This is what their game is. This will all unfold. They are like a flower opening up at dawn: when they are in full bloom, the whole of Australia will be able to see them for what they are. They are a terrible weed. They ought to be eradicated. It goes on. This is what happened under this legislation on day four: Optus sacked 70 full-time workers and said that they could have their jobs back if they returned to Optus as independent contractors. Again, the federal minister said that the legislation was not meant to be used like that. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Then, just to make sure that we go right back to the Dark Ages, how does this IR document finish up? Every Australian worker, unless he or she earns more than $250 000 a year - Mr Andrews has allowed some sort of leeway - will be back on the punch card. People will have to clock on in the morning and clock off at night. The legislation says that the working hours of every employee must be logged to ensure that companies meet the minimum conditions for workers averaging a 38-hour week. That means you lot - reporters in the press gallery. Peter, log on! The legislation says that anybody who is not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket - Peter, you are not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket that I am aware of - will have to log on and companies will have to ensure that they meet the minimum conditions of workers averaging a 38-hour week. Why would companies want employees to log on? It is because penalties attach to any stop-work meeting. The rule is that anyone who stops work for 15 minutes will have four hours’ pay docked and will be expected to be back at work within the four hours working for nothing. I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : However, it is a further tragedy that not only have we not trained enough tradespeople, but also under the federal government’s new industrial relations legislation there is utter confusion in the workplace among both industry leaders and politicians following the sorts of events that have happened in the past few days. Apprentices in South Australia were dismissed last week, on day one of the commencement of this federal legislation. What happened on day one? The federal Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Mr Andrews - when confronted with apprentices being sacked and when we are trying to encourage kids in schools to take on apprenticeships - came out and said that the legislation was not meant to be applied in that way. He said that he was the federal minister and knew his laws and that this law was not meant to be applied in that way. What happened on the same day? Group Training Australia, one of the largest employers of apprentices in Australia, said that the minister was not wrong. It issued a statement, and my note of it reads - All State laws relating to trainees and apprentices that also cover employment arrangements and conditions will no longer have any effect for businesses covered by the federal industrial relations system. So here we are with a document put together by the likes of the Green Building Council of Australia, which is obviously out of touch with most of its membership. Here we are with a federal government absolutely driven by a hatred of workers being represented, that does what on day one? It does not shoot Kevin Reynolds; it does not remove Joe McDonald; it shoots apprentices! That is what it does: shoots apprentices. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : The document sets out to put 18-year-olds in its sight and it says to those 18-year-olds, who are going through a training system and bringing much-needed skills to Australia, that they would be the first people it would assassinate. That is an absolute un-Australian disgrace. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : If it was the only mistake in the past week, I could probably forgive that, as Easter is coming on. This is a time of forgiveness. I even intend to forgive most members opposite, with Easter coming on! I am going to keep a special place in my heart for some members opposite; however, I will not be able, even with Easter, to forgive this. What else did we see? A colleague of Victorian workers on a building site was killed on the building site. On the day their colleague was killed the workers had a stop-work meeting to have a whip-round to raise money for his widow. Everybody agreed to stop for 20 minutes and there was no argument from the bosses. The stoppage took 20 minutes - it was not an industrial dispute by any definition - to have a whip-round to pay for a funeral and to put some money into the hands of a widow. What happened? The employer sacked them. When confronted by the issue only days after the introduction of the new federal IR legislation, the employer said that he had no other choice and that the federal agreement told him that he must sack them. Again, Andrews had to come out and say that they had got it all wrong and that the legislation was not meant to be used in that way. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : We are now into day three of this legislation. Day one - shoot apprentices; day two - assassinate the widow and the family. This is how members of the federal government think. This is what their game is. This will all unfold. They are like a flower opening up at dawn: when they are in full bloom, the whole of Australia will be able to see them for what they are. They are a terrible weed. They ought to be eradicated. It goes on. This is what happened under this legislation on day four: Optus sacked 70 full-time workers and said that they could have their jobs back if they returned to Optus as independent contractors. Again, the federal minister said that the legislation was not meant to be used like that. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Then, just to make sure that we go right back to the Dark Ages, how does this IR document finish up? Every Australian worker, unless he or she earns more than $250 000 a year - Mr Andrews has allowed some sort of leeway - will be back on the punch card. People will have to clock on in the morning and clock off at night. The legislation says that the working hours of every employee must be logged to ensure that companies meet the minimum conditions for workers averaging a 38-hour week. That means you lot - reporters in the press gallery. Peter, log on! The legislation says that anybody who is not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket - Peter, you are not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket that I am aware of - will have to log on and companies will have to ensure that they meet the minimum conditions of workers averaging a 38-hour week. Why would companies want employees to log on? It is because penalties attach to any stop-work meeting. The rule is that anyone who stops work for 15 minutes will have four hours’ pay docked and will be expected to be back at work within the four hours working for nothing. I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : However, it is a further tragedy that not only have we not trained enough tradespeople, but also under the federal government’s new industrial relations legislation there is utter confusion in the workplace among both industry leaders and politicians following the sorts of events that have happened in the past few days. Apprentices in South Australia were dismissed last week, on day one of the commencement of this federal legislation. What happened on day one? The federal Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Mr Andrews - when confronted with apprentices being sacked and when we are trying to encourage kids in schools to take on apprenticeships - came out and said that the legislation was not meant to be applied in that way. He said that he was the federal minister and knew his laws and that this law was not meant to be applied in that way. What happened on the same day? Group Training Australia, one of the largest employers of apprentices in Australia, said that the minister was not wrong. It issued a statement, and my note of it reads - All State laws relating to trainees and apprentices that also cover employment arrangements and conditions will no longer have any effect for businesses covered by the federal industrial relations system. So here we are with a document put together by the likes of the Green Building Council of Australia, which is obviously out of touch with most of its membership. Here we are with a federal government absolutely driven by a hatred of workers being represented, that does what on day one? It does not shoot Kevin Reynolds; it does not remove Joe McDonald; it shoots apprentices! That is what it does: shoots apprentices. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : The document sets out to put 18-year-olds in its sight and it says to those 18-year-olds, who are going through a training system and bringing much-needed skills to Australia, that they would be the first people it would assassinate. That is an absolute un-Australian disgrace. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : If it was the only mistake in the past week, I could probably forgive that, as Easter is coming on. This is a time of forgiveness. I even intend to forgive most members opposite, with Easter coming on! I am going to keep a special place in my heart for some members opposite; however, I will not be able, even with Easter, to forgive this. What else did we see? A colleague of Victorian workers on a building site was killed on the building site. On the day their colleague was killed the workers had a stop-work meeting to have a whip-round to raise money for his widow. Everybody agreed to stop for 20 minutes and there was no argument from the bosses. The stoppage took 20 minutes - it was not an industrial dispute by any definition - to have a whip-round to pay for a funeral and to put some money into the hands of a widow. What happened? The employer sacked them. When confronted by the issue only days after the introduction of the new federal IR legislation, the employer said that he had no other choice and that the federal agreement told him that he must sack them. Again, Andrews had to come out and say that they had got it all wrong and that the legislation was not meant to be used in that way. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : We are now into day three of this legislation. Day one - shoot apprentices; day two - assassinate the widow and the family. This is how members of the federal government think. This is what their game is. This will all unfold. They are like a flower opening up at dawn: when they are in full bloom, the whole of Australia will be able to see them for what they are. They are a terrible weed. They ought to be eradicated. It goes on. This is what happened under this legislation on day four: Optus sacked 70 full-time workers and said that they could have their jobs back if they returned to Optus as independent contractors. Again, the federal minister said that the legislation was not meant to be used like that. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Then, just to make sure that we go right back to the Dark Ages, how does this IR document finish up? Every Australian worker, unless he or she earns more than $250 000 a year - Mr Andrews has allowed some sort of leeway - will be back on the punch card. People will have to clock on in the morning and clock off at night. The legislation says that the working hours of every employee must be logged to ensure that companies meet the minimum conditions for workers averaging a 38-hour week. That means you lot - reporters in the press gallery. Peter, log on! The legislation says that anybody who is not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket - Peter, you are not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket that I am aware of - will have to log on and companies will have to ensure that they meet the minimum conditions of workers averaging a 38-hour week. Why would companies want employees to log on? It is because penalties attach to any stop-work meeting. The rule is that anyone who stops work for 15 minutes will have four hours’ pay docked and will be expected to be back at work within the four hours working for nothing. I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : The document sets out to put 18-year-olds in its sight and it says to those 18-year-olds, who are going through a training system and bringing much-needed skills to Australia, that they would be the first people it would assassinate. That is an absolute un-Australian disgrace. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : If it was the only mistake in the past week, I could probably forgive that, as Easter is coming on. This is a time of forgiveness. I even intend to forgive most members opposite, with Easter coming on! I am going to keep a special place in my heart for some members opposite; however, I will not be able, even with Easter, to forgive this. What else did we see? A colleague of Victorian workers on a building site was killed on the building site. On the day their colleague was killed the workers had a stop-work meeting to have a whip-round to raise money for his widow. Everybody agreed to stop for 20 minutes and there was no argument from the bosses. The stoppage took 20 minutes - it was not an industrial dispute by any definition - to have a whip-round to pay for a funeral and to put some money into the hands of a widow. What happened? The employer sacked them. When confronted by the issue only days after the introduction of the new federal IR legislation, the employer said that he had no other choice and that the federal agreement told him that he must sack them. Again, Andrews had to come out and say that they had got it all wrong and that the legislation was not meant to be used in that way. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : We are now into day three of this legislation. Day one - shoot apprentices; day two - assassinate the widow and the family. This is how members of the federal government think. This is what their game is. This will all unfold. They are like a flower opening up at dawn: when they are in full bloom, the whole of Australia will be able to see them for what they are. They are a terrible weed. They ought to be eradicated. It goes on. This is what happened under this legislation on day four: Optus sacked 70 full-time workers and said that they could have their jobs back if they returned to Optus as independent contractors. Again, the federal minister said that the legislation was not meant to be used like that. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Then, just to make sure that we go right back to the Dark Ages, how does this IR document finish up? Every Australian worker, unless he or she earns more than $250 000 a year - Mr Andrews has allowed some sort of leeway - will be back on the punch card. People will have to clock on in the morning and clock off at night. The legislation says that the working hours of every employee must be logged to ensure that companies meet the minimum conditions for workers averaging a 38-hour week. That means you lot - reporters in the press gallery. Peter, log on! The legislation says that anybody who is not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket - Peter, you are not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket that I am aware of - will have to log on and companies will have to ensure that they meet the minimum conditions of workers averaging a 38-hour week. Why would companies want employees to log on? It is because penalties attach to any stop-work meeting. The rule is that anyone who stops work for 15 minutes will have four hours’ pay docked and will be expected to be back at work within the four hours working for nothing. I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : The document sets out to put 18-year-olds in its sight and it says to those 18-year-olds, who are going through a training system and bringing much-needed skills to Australia, that they would be the first people it would assassinate. That is an absolute un-Australian disgrace. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : If it was the only mistake in the past week, I could probably forgive that, as Easter is coming on. This is a time of forgiveness. I even intend to forgive most members opposite, with Easter coming on! I am going to keep a special place in my heart for some members opposite; however, I will not be able, even with Easter, to forgive this. What else did we see? A colleague of Victorian workers on a building site was killed on the building site. On the day their colleague was killed the workers had a stop-work meeting to have a whip-round to raise money for his widow. Everybody agreed to stop for 20 minutes and there was no argument from the bosses. The stoppage took 20 minutes - it was not an industrial dispute by any definition - to have a whip-round to pay for a funeral and to put some money into the hands of a widow. What happened? The employer sacked them. When confronted by the issue only days after the introduction of the new federal IR legislation, the employer said that he had no other choice and that the federal agreement told him that he must sack them. Again, Andrews had to come out and say that they had got it all wrong and that the legislation was not meant to be used in that way. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : We are now into day three of this legislation. Day one - shoot apprentices; day two - assassinate the widow and the family. This is how members of the federal government think. This is what their game is. This will all unfold. They are like a flower opening up at dawn: when they are in full bloom, the whole of Australia will be able to see them for what they are. They are a terrible weed. They ought to be eradicated. It goes on. This is what happened under this legislation on day four: Optus sacked 70 full-time workers and said that they could have their jobs back if they returned to Optus as independent contractors. Again, the federal minister said that the legislation was not meant to be used like that. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Then, just to make sure that we go right back to the Dark Ages, how does this IR document finish up? Every Australian worker, unless he or she earns more than $250 000 a year - Mr Andrews has allowed some sort of leeway - will be back on the punch card. People will have to clock on in the morning and clock off at night. The legislation says that the working hours of every employee must be logged to ensure that companies meet the minimum conditions for workers averaging a 38-hour week. That means you lot - reporters in the press gallery. Peter, log on! The legislation says that anybody who is not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket - Peter, you are not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket that I am aware of - will have to log on and companies will have to ensure that they meet the minimum conditions of workers averaging a 38-hour week. Why would companies want employees to log on? It is because penalties attach to any stop-work meeting. The rule is that anyone who stops work for 15 minutes will have four hours’ pay docked and will be expected to be back at work within the four hours working for nothing. I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : If it was the only mistake in the past week, I could probably forgive that, as Easter is coming on. This is a time of forgiveness. I even intend to forgive most members opposite, with Easter coming on! I am going to keep a special place in my heart for some members opposite; however, I will not be able, even with Easter, to forgive this. What else did we see? A colleague of Victorian workers on a building site was killed on the building site. On the day their colleague was killed the workers had a stop-work meeting to have a whip-round to raise money for his widow. Everybody agreed to stop for 20 minutes and there was no argument from the bosses. The stoppage took 20 minutes - it was not an industrial dispute by any definition - to have a whip-round to pay for a funeral and to put some money into the hands of a widow. What happened? The employer sacked them. When confronted by the issue only days after the introduction of the new federal IR legislation, the employer said that he had no other choice and that the federal agreement told him that he must sack them. Again, Andrews had to come out and say that they had got it all wrong and that the legislation was not meant to be used in that way. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : We are now into day three of this legislation. Day one - shoot apprentices; day two - assassinate the widow and the family. This is how members of the federal government think. This is what their game is. This will all unfold. They are like a flower opening up at dawn: when they are in full bloom, the whole of Australia will be able to see them for what they are. They are a terrible weed. They ought to be eradicated. It goes on. This is what happened under this legislation on day four: Optus sacked 70 full-time workers and said that they could have their jobs back if they returned to Optus as independent contractors. Again, the federal minister said that the legislation was not meant to be used like that. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Then, just to make sure that we go right back to the Dark Ages, how does this IR document finish up? Every Australian worker, unless he or she earns more than $250 000 a year - Mr Andrews has allowed some sort of leeway - will be back on the punch card. People will have to clock on in the morning and clock off at night. The legislation says that the working hours of every employee must be logged to ensure that companies meet the minimum conditions for workers averaging a 38-hour week. That means you lot - reporters in the press gallery. Peter, log on! The legislation says that anybody who is not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket - Peter, you are not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket that I am aware of - will have to log on and companies will have to ensure that they meet the minimum conditions of workers averaging a 38-hour week. Why would companies want employees to log on? It is because penalties attach to any stop-work meeting. The rule is that anyone who stops work for 15 minutes will have four hours’ pay docked and will be expected to be back at work within the four hours working for nothing. I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : If it was the only mistake in the past week, I could probably forgive that, as Easter is coming on. This is a time of forgiveness. I even intend to forgive most members opposite, with Easter coming on! I am going to keep a special place in my heart for some members opposite; however, I will not be able, even with Easter, to forgive this. What else did we see? A colleague of Victorian workers on a building site was killed on the building site. On the day their colleague was killed the workers had a stop-work meeting to have a whip-round to raise money for his widow. Everybody agreed to stop for 20 minutes and there was no argument from the bosses. The stoppage took 20 minutes - it was not an industrial dispute by any definition - to have a whip-round to pay for a funeral and to put some money into the hands of a widow. What happened? The employer sacked them. When confronted by the issue only days after the introduction of the new federal IR legislation, the employer said that he had no other choice and that the federal agreement told him that he must sack them. Again, Andrews had to come out and say that they had got it all wrong and that the legislation was not meant to be used in that way. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : We are now into day three of this legislation. Day one - shoot apprentices; day two - assassinate the widow and the family. This is how members of the federal government think. This is what their game is. This will all unfold. They are like a flower opening up at dawn: when they are in full bloom, the whole of Australia will be able to see them for what they are. They are a terrible weed. They ought to be eradicated. It goes on. This is what happened under this legislation on day four: Optus sacked 70 full-time workers and said that they could have their jobs back if they returned to Optus as independent contractors. Again, the federal minister said that the legislation was not meant to be used like that. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Then, just to make sure that we go right back to the Dark Ages, how does this IR document finish up? Every Australian worker, unless he or she earns more than $250 000 a year - Mr Andrews has allowed some sort of leeway - will be back on the punch card. People will have to clock on in the morning and clock off at night. The legislation says that the working hours of every employee must be logged to ensure that companies meet the minimum conditions for workers averaging a 38-hour week. That means you lot - reporters in the press gallery. Peter, log on! The legislation says that anybody who is not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket - Peter, you are not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket that I am aware of - will have to log on and companies will have to ensure that they meet the minimum conditions of workers averaging a 38-hour week. Why would companies want employees to log on? It is because penalties attach to any stop-work meeting. The rule is that anyone who stops work for 15 minutes will have four hours’ pay docked and will be expected to be back at work within the four hours working for nothing. I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
What else did we see? A colleague of Victorian workers on a building site was killed on the building site. On the day their colleague was killed the workers had a stop-work meeting to have a whip-round to raise money for his widow. Everybody agreed to stop for 20 minutes and there was no argument from the bosses. The stoppage took 20 minutes - it was not an industrial dispute by any definition - to have a whip-round to pay for a funeral and to put some money into the hands of a widow. What happened? The employer sacked them. When confronted by the issue only days after the introduction of the new federal IR legislation, the employer said that he had no other choice and that the federal agreement told him that he must sack them. Again, Andrews had to come out and say that they had got it all wrong and that the legislation was not meant to be used in that way. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : We are now into day three of this legislation. Day one - shoot apprentices; day two - assassinate the widow and the family. This is how members of the federal government think. This is what their game is. This will all unfold. They are like a flower opening up at dawn: when they are in full bloom, the whole of Australia will be able to see them for what they are. They are a terrible weed. They ought to be eradicated. It goes on. This is what happened under this legislation on day four: Optus sacked 70 full-time workers and said that they could have their jobs back if they returned to Optus as independent contractors. Again, the federal minister said that the legislation was not meant to be used like that. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Then, just to make sure that we go right back to the Dark Ages, how does this IR document finish up? Every Australian worker, unless he or she earns more than $250 000 a year - Mr Andrews has allowed some sort of leeway - will be back on the punch card. People will have to clock on in the morning and clock off at night. The legislation says that the working hours of every employee must be logged to ensure that companies meet the minimum conditions for workers averaging a 38-hour week. That means you lot - reporters in the press gallery. Peter, log on! The legislation says that anybody who is not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket - Peter, you are not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket that I am aware of - will have to log on and companies will have to ensure that they meet the minimum conditions of workers averaging a 38-hour week. Why would companies want employees to log on? It is because penalties attach to any stop-work meeting. The rule is that anyone who stops work for 15 minutes will have four hours’ pay docked and will be expected to be back at work within the four hours working for nothing. I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : We are now into day three of this legislation. Day one - shoot apprentices; day two - assassinate the widow and the family. This is how members of the federal government think. This is what their game is. This will all unfold. They are like a flower opening up at dawn: when they are in full bloom, the whole of Australia will be able to see them for what they are. They are a terrible weed. They ought to be eradicated. It goes on. This is what happened under this legislation on day four: Optus sacked 70 full-time workers and said that they could have their jobs back if they returned to Optus as independent contractors. Again, the federal minister said that the legislation was not meant to be used like that. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Then, just to make sure that we go right back to the Dark Ages, how does this IR document finish up? Every Australian worker, unless he or she earns more than $250 000 a year - Mr Andrews has allowed some sort of leeway - will be back on the punch card. People will have to clock on in the morning and clock off at night. The legislation says that the working hours of every employee must be logged to ensure that companies meet the minimum conditions for workers averaging a 38-hour week. That means you lot - reporters in the press gallery. Peter, log on! The legislation says that anybody who is not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket - Peter, you are not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket that I am aware of - will have to log on and companies will have to ensure that they meet the minimum conditions of workers averaging a 38-hour week. Why would companies want employees to log on? It is because penalties attach to any stop-work meeting. The rule is that anyone who stops work for 15 minutes will have four hours’ pay docked and will be expected to be back at work within the four hours working for nothing. I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : We are now into day three of this legislation. Day one - shoot apprentices; day two - assassinate the widow and the family. This is how members of the federal government think. This is what their game is. This will all unfold. They are like a flower opening up at dawn: when they are in full bloom, the whole of Australia will be able to see them for what they are. They are a terrible weed. They ought to be eradicated. It goes on. This is what happened under this legislation on day four: Optus sacked 70 full-time workers and said that they could have their jobs back if they returned to Optus as independent contractors. Again, the federal minister said that the legislation was not meant to be used like that. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Then, just to make sure that we go right back to the Dark Ages, how does this IR document finish up? Every Australian worker, unless he or she earns more than $250 000 a year - Mr Andrews has allowed some sort of leeway - will be back on the punch card. People will have to clock on in the morning and clock off at night. The legislation says that the working hours of every employee must be logged to ensure that companies meet the minimum conditions for workers averaging a 38-hour week. That means you lot - reporters in the press gallery. Peter, log on! The legislation says that anybody who is not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket - Peter, you are not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket that I am aware of - will have to log on and companies will have to ensure that they meet the minimum conditions of workers averaging a 38-hour week. Why would companies want employees to log on? It is because penalties attach to any stop-work meeting. The rule is that anyone who stops work for 15 minutes will have four hours’ pay docked and will be expected to be back at work within the four hours working for nothing. I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
It goes on. This is what happened under this legislation on day four: Optus sacked 70 full-time workers and said that they could have their jobs back if they returned to Optus as independent contractors. Again, the federal minister said that the legislation was not meant to be used like that. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Then, just to make sure that we go right back to the Dark Ages, how does this IR document finish up? Every Australian worker, unless he or she earns more than $250 000 a year - Mr Andrews has allowed some sort of leeway - will be back on the punch card. People will have to clock on in the morning and clock off at night. The legislation says that the working hours of every employee must be logged to ensure that companies meet the minimum conditions for workers averaging a 38-hour week. That means you lot - reporters in the press gallery. Peter, log on! The legislation says that anybody who is not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket - Peter, you are not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket that I am aware of - will have to log on and companies will have to ensure that they meet the minimum conditions of workers averaging a 38-hour week. Why would companies want employees to log on? It is because penalties attach to any stop-work meeting. The rule is that anyone who stops work for 15 minutes will have four hours’ pay docked and will be expected to be back at work within the four hours working for nothing. I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Then, just to make sure that we go right back to the Dark Ages, how does this IR document finish up? Every Australian worker, unless he or she earns more than $250 000 a year - Mr Andrews has allowed some sort of leeway - will be back on the punch card. People will have to clock on in the morning and clock off at night. The legislation says that the working hours of every employee must be logged to ensure that companies meet the minimum conditions for workers averaging a 38-hour week. That means you lot - reporters in the press gallery. Peter, log on! The legislation says that anybody who is not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket - Peter, you are not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket that I am aware of - will have to log on and companies will have to ensure that they meet the minimum conditions of workers averaging a 38-hour week. Why would companies want employees to log on? It is because penalties attach to any stop-work meeting. The rule is that anyone who stops work for 15 minutes will have four hours’ pay docked and will be expected to be back at work within the four hours working for nothing. I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Then, just to make sure that we go right back to the Dark Ages, how does this IR document finish up? Every Australian worker, unless he or she earns more than $250 000 a year - Mr Andrews has allowed some sort of leeway - will be back on the punch card. People will have to clock on in the morning and clock off at night. The legislation says that the working hours of every employee must be logged to ensure that companies meet the minimum conditions for workers averaging a 38-hour week. That means you lot - reporters in the press gallery. Peter, log on! The legislation says that anybody who is not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket - Peter, you are not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket that I am aware of - will have to log on and companies will have to ensure that they meet the minimum conditions of workers averaging a 38-hour week. Why would companies want employees to log on? It is because penalties attach to any stop-work meeting. The rule is that anyone who stops work for 15 minutes will have four hours’ pay docked and will be expected to be back at work within the four hours working for nothing. I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH replied: I thank the member for Riverton for the question. It is a tragedy that, at a time when the nation is suffering from a massive skills shortage and when governments of all political persuasions have ignored training for the past 20 years, we are at a stage when we need to produce skilled tradespeople in Western Australia. An opposition member: That’s rubbish! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : It is not rubbish at all. It is a fact of life that there are not enough skilled tradespeople in Australia. The opposition’s federal colleagues are driving the importation of skills, which was publicly announced less than 12 months ago at 50 000 people, publicly announced eight months ago at 70 000 people and unannounced last month at 110 000 people. Several weeks ago I received a letter from Amanda Vanstone telling me that by Christmas she wants to import the skills of 170 000 people by the end of the year. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : However, it is a further tragedy that not only have we not trained enough tradespeople, but also under the federal government’s new industrial relations legislation there is utter confusion in the workplace among both industry leaders and politicians following the sorts of events that have happened in the past few days. Apprentices in South Australia were dismissed last week, on day one of the commencement of this federal legislation. What happened on day one? The federal Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Mr Andrews - when confronted with apprentices being sacked and when we are trying to encourage kids in schools to take on apprenticeships - came out and said that the legislation was not meant to be applied in that way. He said that he was the federal minister and knew his laws and that this law was not meant to be applied in that way. What happened on the same day? Group Training Australia, one of the largest employers of apprentices in Australia, said that the minister was not wrong. It issued a statement, and my note of it reads - All State laws relating to trainees and apprentices that also cover employment arrangements and conditions will no longer have any effect for businesses covered by the federal industrial relations system. So here we are with a document put together by the likes of the Green Building Council of Australia, which is obviously out of touch with most of its membership. Here we are with a federal government absolutely driven by a hatred of workers being represented, that does what on day one? It does not shoot Kevin Reynolds; it does not remove Joe McDonald; it shoots apprentices! That is what it does: shoots apprentices. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : The document sets out to put 18-year-olds in its sight and it says to those 18-year-olds, who are going through a training system and bringing much-needed skills to Australia, that they would be the first people it would assassinate. That is an absolute un-Australian disgrace. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : If it was the only mistake in the past week, I could probably forgive that, as Easter is coming on. This is a time of forgiveness. I even intend to forgive most members opposite, with Easter coming on! I am going to keep a special place in my heart for some members opposite; however, I will not be able, even with Easter, to forgive this. What else did we see? A colleague of Victorian workers on a building site was killed on the building site. On the day their colleague was killed the workers had a stop-work meeting to have a whip-round to raise money for his widow. Everybody agreed to stop for 20 minutes and there was no argument from the bosses. The stoppage took 20 minutes - it was not an industrial dispute by any definition - to have a whip-round to pay for a funeral and to put some money into the hands of a widow. What happened? The employer sacked them. When confronted by the issue only days after the introduction of the new federal IR legislation, the employer said that he had no other choice and that the federal agreement told him that he must sack them. Again, Andrews had to come out and say that they had got it all wrong and that the legislation was not meant to be used in that way. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : We are now into day three of this legislation. Day one - shoot apprentices; day two - assassinate the widow and the family. This is how members of the federal government think. This is what their game is. This will all unfold. They are like a flower opening up at dawn: when they are in full bloom, the whole of Australia will be able to see them for what they are. They are a terrible weed. They ought to be eradicated. It goes on. This is what happened under this legislation on day four: Optus sacked 70 full-time workers and said that they could have their jobs back if they returned to Optus as independent contractors. Again, the federal minister said that the legislation was not meant to be used like that. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Then, just to make sure that we go right back to the Dark Ages, how does this IR document finish up? Every Australian worker, unless he or she earns more than $250 000 a year - Mr Andrews has allowed some sort of leeway - will be back on the punch card. People will have to clock on in the morning and clock off at night. The legislation says that the working hours of every employee must be logged to ensure that companies meet the minimum conditions for workers averaging a 38-hour week. That means you lot - reporters in the press gallery. Peter, log on! The legislation says that anybody who is not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket - Peter, you are not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket that I am aware of - will have to log on and companies will have to ensure that they meet the minimum conditions of workers averaging a 38-hour week. Why would companies want employees to log on? It is because penalties attach to any stop-work meeting. The rule is that anyone who stops work for 15 minutes will have four hours’ pay docked and will be expected to be back at work within the four hours working for nothing. I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
I thank the member for Riverton for the question. It is a tragedy that, at a time when the nation is suffering from a massive skills shortage and when governments of all political persuasions have ignored training for the past 20 years, we are at a stage when we need to produce skilled tradespeople in Western Australia. An opposition member: That’s rubbish! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : It is not rubbish at all. It is a fact of life that there are not enough skilled tradespeople in Australia. The opposition’s federal colleagues are driving the importation of skills, which was publicly announced less than 12 months ago at 50 000 people, publicly announced eight months ago at 70 000 people and unannounced last month at 110 000 people. Several weeks ago I received a letter from Amanda Vanstone telling me that by Christmas she wants to import the skills of 170 000 people by the end of the year. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : However, it is a further tragedy that not only have we not trained enough tradespeople, but also under the federal government’s new industrial relations legislation there is utter confusion in the workplace among both industry leaders and politicians following the sorts of events that have happened in the past few days. Apprentices in South Australia were dismissed last week, on day one of the commencement of this federal legislation. What happened on day one? The federal Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Mr Andrews - when confronted with apprentices being sacked and when we are trying to encourage kids in schools to take on apprenticeships - came out and said that the legislation was not meant to be applied in that way. He said that he was the federal minister and knew his laws and that this law was not meant to be applied in that way. What happened on the same day? Group Training Australia, one of the largest employers of apprentices in Australia, said that the minister was not wrong. It issued a statement, and my note of it reads - All State laws relating to trainees and apprentices that also cover employment arrangements and conditions will no longer have any effect for businesses covered by the federal industrial relations system. So here we are with a document put together by the likes of the Green Building Council of Australia, which is obviously out of touch with most of its membership. Here we are with a federal government absolutely driven by a hatred of workers being represented, that does what on day one? It does not shoot Kevin Reynolds; it does not remove Joe McDonald; it shoots apprentices! That is what it does: shoots apprentices. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : The document sets out to put 18-year-olds in its sight and it says to those 18-year-olds, who are going through a training system and bringing much-needed skills to Australia, that they would be the first people it would assassinate. That is an absolute un-Australian disgrace. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : If it was the only mistake in the past week, I could probably forgive that, as Easter is coming on. This is a time of forgiveness. I even intend to forgive most members opposite, with Easter coming on! I am going to keep a special place in my heart for some members opposite; however, I will not be able, even with Easter, to forgive this. What else did we see? A colleague of Victorian workers on a building site was killed on the building site. On the day their colleague was killed the workers had a stop-work meeting to have a whip-round to raise money for his widow. Everybody agreed to stop for 20 minutes and there was no argument from the bosses. The stoppage took 20 minutes - it was not an industrial dispute by any definition - to have a whip-round to pay for a funeral and to put some money into the hands of a widow. What happened? The employer sacked them. When confronted by the issue only days after the introduction of the new federal IR legislation, the employer said that he had no other choice and that the federal agreement told him that he must sack them. Again, Andrews had to come out and say that they had got it all wrong and that the legislation was not meant to be used in that way. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : We are now into day three of this legislation. Day one - shoot apprentices; day two - assassinate the widow and the family. This is how members of the federal government think. This is what their game is. This will all unfold. They are like a flower opening up at dawn: when they are in full bloom, the whole of Australia will be able to see them for what they are. They are a terrible weed. They ought to be eradicated. It goes on. This is what happened under this legislation on day four: Optus sacked 70 full-time workers and said that they could have their jobs back if they returned to Optus as independent contractors. Again, the federal minister said that the legislation was not meant to be used like that. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Then, just to make sure that we go right back to the Dark Ages, how does this IR document finish up? Every Australian worker, unless he or she earns more than $250 000 a year - Mr Andrews has allowed some sort of leeway - will be back on the punch card. People will have to clock on in the morning and clock off at night. The legislation says that the working hours of every employee must be logged to ensure that companies meet the minimum conditions for workers averaging a 38-hour week. That means you lot - reporters in the press gallery. Peter, log on! The legislation says that anybody who is not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket - Peter, you are not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket that I am aware of - will have to log on and companies will have to ensure that they meet the minimum conditions of workers averaging a 38-hour week. Why would companies want employees to log on? It is because penalties attach to any stop-work meeting. The rule is that anyone who stops work for 15 minutes will have four hours’ pay docked and will be expected to be back at work within the four hours working for nothing. I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
An opposition member: That’s rubbish! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : It is not rubbish at all. It is a fact of life that there are not enough skilled tradespeople in Australia. The opposition’s federal colleagues are driving the importation of skills, which was publicly announced less than 12 months ago at 50 000 people, publicly announced eight months ago at 70 000 people and unannounced last month at 110 000 people. Several weeks ago I received a letter from Amanda Vanstone telling me that by Christmas she wants to import the skills of 170 000 people by the end of the year. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : However, it is a further tragedy that not only have we not trained enough tradespeople, but also under the federal government’s new industrial relations legislation there is utter confusion in the workplace among both industry leaders and politicians following the sorts of events that have happened in the past few days. Apprentices in South Australia were dismissed last week, on day one of the commencement of this federal legislation. What happened on day one? The federal Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Mr Andrews - when confronted with apprentices being sacked and when we are trying to encourage kids in schools to take on apprenticeships - came out and said that the legislation was not meant to be applied in that way. He said that he was the federal minister and knew his laws and that this law was not meant to be applied in that way. What happened on the same day? Group Training Australia, one of the largest employers of apprentices in Australia, said that the minister was not wrong. It issued a statement, and my note of it reads - All State laws relating to trainees and apprentices that also cover employment arrangements and conditions will no longer have any effect for businesses covered by the federal industrial relations system. So here we are with a document put together by the likes of the Green Building Council of Australia, which is obviously out of touch with most of its membership. Here we are with a federal government absolutely driven by a hatred of workers being represented, that does what on day one? It does not shoot Kevin Reynolds; it does not remove Joe McDonald; it shoots apprentices! That is what it does: shoots apprentices. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : The document sets out to put 18-year-olds in its sight and it says to those 18-year-olds, who are going through a training system and bringing much-needed skills to Australia, that they would be the first people it would assassinate. That is an absolute un-Australian disgrace. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : If it was the only mistake in the past week, I could probably forgive that, as Easter is coming on. This is a time of forgiveness. I even intend to forgive most members opposite, with Easter coming on! I am going to keep a special place in my heart for some members opposite; however, I will not be able, even with Easter, to forgive this. What else did we see? A colleague of Victorian workers on a building site was killed on the building site. On the day their colleague was killed the workers had a stop-work meeting to have a whip-round to raise money for his widow. Everybody agreed to stop for 20 minutes and there was no argument from the bosses. The stoppage took 20 minutes - it was not an industrial dispute by any definition - to have a whip-round to pay for a funeral and to put some money into the hands of a widow. What happened? The employer sacked them. When confronted by the issue only days after the introduction of the new federal IR legislation, the employer said that he had no other choice and that the federal agreement told him that he must sack them. Again, Andrews had to come out and say that they had got it all wrong and that the legislation was not meant to be used in that way. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : We are now into day three of this legislation. Day one - shoot apprentices; day two - assassinate the widow and the family. This is how members of the federal government think. This is what their game is. This will all unfold. They are like a flower opening up at dawn: when they are in full bloom, the whole of Australia will be able to see them for what they are. They are a terrible weed. They ought to be eradicated. It goes on. This is what happened under this legislation on day four: Optus sacked 70 full-time workers and said that they could have their jobs back if they returned to Optus as independent contractors. Again, the federal minister said that the legislation was not meant to be used like that. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Then, just to make sure that we go right back to the Dark Ages, how does this IR document finish up? Every Australian worker, unless he or she earns more than $250 000 a year - Mr Andrews has allowed some sort of leeway - will be back on the punch card. People will have to clock on in the morning and clock off at night. The legislation says that the working hours of every employee must be logged to ensure that companies meet the minimum conditions for workers averaging a 38-hour week. That means you lot - reporters in the press gallery. Peter, log on! The legislation says that anybody who is not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket - Peter, you are not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket that I am aware of - will have to log on and companies will have to ensure that they meet the minimum conditions of workers averaging a 38-hour week. Why would companies want employees to log on? It is because penalties attach to any stop-work meeting. The rule is that anyone who stops work for 15 minutes will have four hours’ pay docked and will be expected to be back at work within the four hours working for nothing. I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : It is not rubbish at all. It is a fact of life that there are not enough skilled tradespeople in Australia. The opposition’s federal colleagues are driving the importation of skills, which was publicly announced less than 12 months ago at 50 000 people, publicly announced eight months ago at 70 000 people and unannounced last month at 110 000 people. Several weeks ago I received a letter from Amanda Vanstone telling me that by Christmas she wants to import the skills of 170 000 people by the end of the year. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : However, it is a further tragedy that not only have we not trained enough tradespeople, but also under the federal government’s new industrial relations legislation there is utter confusion in the workplace among both industry leaders and politicians following the sorts of events that have happened in the past few days. Apprentices in South Australia were dismissed last week, on day one of the commencement of this federal legislation. What happened on day one? The federal Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Mr Andrews - when confronted with apprentices being sacked and when we are trying to encourage kids in schools to take on apprenticeships - came out and said that the legislation was not meant to be applied in that way. He said that he was the federal minister and knew his laws and that this law was not meant to be applied in that way. What happened on the same day? Group Training Australia, one of the largest employers of apprentices in Australia, said that the minister was not wrong. It issued a statement, and my note of it reads - All State laws relating to trainees and apprentices that also cover employment arrangements and conditions will no longer have any effect for businesses covered by the federal industrial relations system. So here we are with a document put together by the likes of the Green Building Council of Australia, which is obviously out of touch with most of its membership. Here we are with a federal government absolutely driven by a hatred of workers being represented, that does what on day one? It does not shoot Kevin Reynolds; it does not remove Joe McDonald; it shoots apprentices! That is what it does: shoots apprentices. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : The document sets out to put 18-year-olds in its sight and it says to those 18-year-olds, who are going through a training system and bringing much-needed skills to Australia, that they would be the first people it would assassinate. That is an absolute un-Australian disgrace. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : If it was the only mistake in the past week, I could probably forgive that, as Easter is coming on. This is a time of forgiveness. I even intend to forgive most members opposite, with Easter coming on! I am going to keep a special place in my heart for some members opposite; however, I will not be able, even with Easter, to forgive this. What else did we see? A colleague of Victorian workers on a building site was killed on the building site. On the day their colleague was killed the workers had a stop-work meeting to have a whip-round to raise money for his widow. Everybody agreed to stop for 20 minutes and there was no argument from the bosses. The stoppage took 20 minutes - it was not an industrial dispute by any definition - to have a whip-round to pay for a funeral and to put some money into the hands of a widow. What happened? The employer sacked them. When confronted by the issue only days after the introduction of the new federal IR legislation, the employer said that he had no other choice and that the federal agreement told him that he must sack them. Again, Andrews had to come out and say that they had got it all wrong and that the legislation was not meant to be used in that way. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : We are now into day three of this legislation. Day one - shoot apprentices; day two - assassinate the widow and the family. This is how members of the federal government think. This is what their game is. This will all unfold. They are like a flower opening up at dawn: when they are in full bloom, the whole of Australia will be able to see them for what they are. They are a terrible weed. They ought to be eradicated. It goes on. This is what happened under this legislation on day four: Optus sacked 70 full-time workers and said that they could have their jobs back if they returned to Optus as independent contractors. Again, the federal minister said that the legislation was not meant to be used like that. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Then, just to make sure that we go right back to the Dark Ages, how does this IR document finish up? Every Australian worker, unless he or she earns more than $250 000 a year - Mr Andrews has allowed some sort of leeway - will be back on the punch card. People will have to clock on in the morning and clock off at night. The legislation says that the working hours of every employee must be logged to ensure that companies meet the minimum conditions for workers averaging a 38-hour week. That means you lot - reporters in the press gallery. Peter, log on! The legislation says that anybody who is not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket - Peter, you are not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket that I am aware of - will have to log on and companies will have to ensure that they meet the minimum conditions of workers averaging a 38-hour week. Why would companies want employees to log on? It is because penalties attach to any stop-work meeting. The rule is that anyone who stops work for 15 minutes will have four hours’ pay docked and will be expected to be back at work within the four hours working for nothing. I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : However, it is a further tragedy that not only have we not trained enough tradespeople, but also under the federal government’s new industrial relations legislation there is utter confusion in the workplace among both industry leaders and politicians following the sorts of events that have happened in the past few days. Apprentices in South Australia were dismissed last week, on day one of the commencement of this federal legislation. What happened on day one? The federal Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Mr Andrews - when confronted with apprentices being sacked and when we are trying to encourage kids in schools to take on apprenticeships - came out and said that the legislation was not meant to be applied in that way. He said that he was the federal minister and knew his laws and that this law was not meant to be applied in that way. What happened on the same day? Group Training Australia, one of the largest employers of apprentices in Australia, said that the minister was not wrong. It issued a statement, and my note of it reads - All State laws relating to trainees and apprentices that also cover employment arrangements and conditions will no longer have any effect for businesses covered by the federal industrial relations system. So here we are with a document put together by the likes of the Green Building Council of Australia, which is obviously out of touch with most of its membership. Here we are with a federal government absolutely driven by a hatred of workers being represented, that does what on day one? It does not shoot Kevin Reynolds; it does not remove Joe McDonald; it shoots apprentices! That is what it does: shoots apprentices. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : The document sets out to put 18-year-olds in its sight and it says to those 18-year-olds, who are going through a training system and bringing much-needed skills to Australia, that they would be the first people it would assassinate. That is an absolute un-Australian disgrace. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : If it was the only mistake in the past week, I could probably forgive that, as Easter is coming on. This is a time of forgiveness. I even intend to forgive most members opposite, with Easter coming on! I am going to keep a special place in my heart for some members opposite; however, I will not be able, even with Easter, to forgive this. What else did we see? A colleague of Victorian workers on a building site was killed on the building site. On the day their colleague was killed the workers had a stop-work meeting to have a whip-round to raise money for his widow. Everybody agreed to stop for 20 minutes and there was no argument from the bosses. The stoppage took 20 minutes - it was not an industrial dispute by any definition - to have a whip-round to pay for a funeral and to put some money into the hands of a widow. What happened? The employer sacked them. When confronted by the issue only days after the introduction of the new federal IR legislation, the employer said that he had no other choice and that the federal agreement told him that he must sack them. Again, Andrews had to come out and say that they had got it all wrong and that the legislation was not meant to be used in that way. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : We are now into day three of this legislation. Day one - shoot apprentices; day two - assassinate the widow and the family. This is how members of the federal government think. This is what their game is. This will all unfold. They are like a flower opening up at dawn: when they are in full bloom, the whole of Australia will be able to see them for what they are. They are a terrible weed. They ought to be eradicated. It goes on. This is what happened under this legislation on day four: Optus sacked 70 full-time workers and said that they could have their jobs back if they returned to Optus as independent contractors. Again, the federal minister said that the legislation was not meant to be used like that. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Then, just to make sure that we go right back to the Dark Ages, how does this IR document finish up? Every Australian worker, unless he or she earns more than $250 000 a year - Mr Andrews has allowed some sort of leeway - will be back on the punch card. People will have to clock on in the morning and clock off at night. The legislation says that the working hours of every employee must be logged to ensure that companies meet the minimum conditions for workers averaging a 38-hour week. That means you lot - reporters in the press gallery. Peter, log on! The legislation says that anybody who is not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket - Peter, you are not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket that I am aware of - will have to log on and companies will have to ensure that they meet the minimum conditions of workers averaging a 38-hour week. Why would companies want employees to log on? It is because penalties attach to any stop-work meeting. The rule is that anyone who stops work for 15 minutes will have four hours’ pay docked and will be expected to be back at work within the four hours working for nothing. I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : However, it is a further tragedy that not only have we not trained enough tradespeople, but also under the federal government’s new industrial relations legislation there is utter confusion in the workplace among both industry leaders and politicians following the sorts of events that have happened in the past few days. Apprentices in South Australia were dismissed last week, on day one of the commencement of this federal legislation. What happened on day one? The federal Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Mr Andrews - when confronted with apprentices being sacked and when we are trying to encourage kids in schools to take on apprenticeships - came out and said that the legislation was not meant to be applied in that way. He said that he was the federal minister and knew his laws and that this law was not meant to be applied in that way. What happened on the same day? Group Training Australia, one of the largest employers of apprentices in Australia, said that the minister was not wrong. It issued a statement, and my note of it reads - All State laws relating to trainees and apprentices that also cover employment arrangements and conditions will no longer have any effect for businesses covered by the federal industrial relations system. So here we are with a document put together by the likes of the Green Building Council of Australia, which is obviously out of touch with most of its membership. Here we are with a federal government absolutely driven by a hatred of workers being represented, that does what on day one? It does not shoot Kevin Reynolds; it does not remove Joe McDonald; it shoots apprentices! That is what it does: shoots apprentices. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : The document sets out to put 18-year-olds in its sight and it says to those 18-year-olds, who are going through a training system and bringing much-needed skills to Australia, that they would be the first people it would assassinate. That is an absolute un-Australian disgrace. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : If it was the only mistake in the past week, I could probably forgive that, as Easter is coming on. This is a time of forgiveness. I even intend to forgive most members opposite, with Easter coming on! I am going to keep a special place in my heart for some members opposite; however, I will not be able, even with Easter, to forgive this. What else did we see? A colleague of Victorian workers on a building site was killed on the building site. On the day their colleague was killed the workers had a stop-work meeting to have a whip-round to raise money for his widow. Everybody agreed to stop for 20 minutes and there was no argument from the bosses. The stoppage took 20 minutes - it was not an industrial dispute by any definition - to have a whip-round to pay for a funeral and to put some money into the hands of a widow. What happened? The employer sacked them. When confronted by the issue only days after the introduction of the new federal IR legislation, the employer said that he had no other choice and that the federal agreement told him that he must sack them. Again, Andrews had to come out and say that they had got it all wrong and that the legislation was not meant to be used in that way. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : We are now into day three of this legislation. Day one - shoot apprentices; day two - assassinate the widow and the family. This is how members of the federal government think. This is what their game is. This will all unfold. They are like a flower opening up at dawn: when they are in full bloom, the whole of Australia will be able to see them for what they are. They are a terrible weed. They ought to be eradicated. It goes on. This is what happened under this legislation on day four: Optus sacked 70 full-time workers and said that they could have their jobs back if they returned to Optus as independent contractors. Again, the federal minister said that the legislation was not meant to be used like that. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Then, just to make sure that we go right back to the Dark Ages, how does this IR document finish up? Every Australian worker, unless he or she earns more than $250 000 a year - Mr Andrews has allowed some sort of leeway - will be back on the punch card. People will have to clock on in the morning and clock off at night. The legislation says that the working hours of every employee must be logged to ensure that companies meet the minimum conditions for workers averaging a 38-hour week. That means you lot - reporters in the press gallery. Peter, log on! The legislation says that anybody who is not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket - Peter, you are not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket that I am aware of - will have to log on and companies will have to ensure that they meet the minimum conditions of workers averaging a 38-hour week. Why would companies want employees to log on? It is because penalties attach to any stop-work meeting. The rule is that anyone who stops work for 15 minutes will have four hours’ pay docked and will be expected to be back at work within the four hours working for nothing. I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : However, it is a further tragedy that not only have we not trained enough tradespeople, but also under the federal government’s new industrial relations legislation there is utter confusion in the workplace among both industry leaders and politicians following the sorts of events that have happened in the past few days. Apprentices in South Australia were dismissed last week, on day one of the commencement of this federal legislation. What happened on day one? The federal Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Mr Andrews - when confronted with apprentices being sacked and when we are trying to encourage kids in schools to take on apprenticeships - came out and said that the legislation was not meant to be applied in that way. He said that he was the federal minister and knew his laws and that this law was not meant to be applied in that way. What happened on the same day? Group Training Australia, one of the largest employers of apprentices in Australia, said that the minister was not wrong. It issued a statement, and my note of it reads - All State laws relating to trainees and apprentices that also cover employment arrangements and conditions will no longer have any effect for businesses covered by the federal industrial relations system. So here we are with a document put together by the likes of the Green Building Council of Australia, which is obviously out of touch with most of its membership. Here we are with a federal government absolutely driven by a hatred of workers being represented, that does what on day one? It does not shoot Kevin Reynolds; it does not remove Joe McDonald; it shoots apprentices! That is what it does: shoots apprentices. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : The document sets out to put 18-year-olds in its sight and it says to those 18-year-olds, who are going through a training system and bringing much-needed skills to Australia, that they would be the first people it would assassinate. That is an absolute un-Australian disgrace. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : If it was the only mistake in the past week, I could probably forgive that, as Easter is coming on. This is a time of forgiveness. I even intend to forgive most members opposite, with Easter coming on! I am going to keep a special place in my heart for some members opposite; however, I will not be able, even with Easter, to forgive this. What else did we see? A colleague of Victorian workers on a building site was killed on the building site. On the day their colleague was killed the workers had a stop-work meeting to have a whip-round to raise money for his widow. Everybody agreed to stop for 20 minutes and there was no argument from the bosses. The stoppage took 20 minutes - it was not an industrial dispute by any definition - to have a whip-round to pay for a funeral and to put some money into the hands of a widow. What happened? The employer sacked them. When confronted by the issue only days after the introduction of the new federal IR legislation, the employer said that he had no other choice and that the federal agreement told him that he must sack them. Again, Andrews had to come out and say that they had got it all wrong and that the legislation was not meant to be used in that way. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : We are now into day three of this legislation. Day one - shoot apprentices; day two - assassinate the widow and the family. This is how members of the federal government think. This is what their game is. This will all unfold. They are like a flower opening up at dawn: when they are in full bloom, the whole of Australia will be able to see them for what they are. They are a terrible weed. They ought to be eradicated. It goes on. This is what happened under this legislation on day four: Optus sacked 70 full-time workers and said that they could have their jobs back if they returned to Optus as independent contractors. Again, the federal minister said that the legislation was not meant to be used like that. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Then, just to make sure that we go right back to the Dark Ages, how does this IR document finish up? Every Australian worker, unless he or she earns more than $250 000 a year - Mr Andrews has allowed some sort of leeway - will be back on the punch card. People will have to clock on in the morning and clock off at night. The legislation says that the working hours of every employee must be logged to ensure that companies meet the minimum conditions for workers averaging a 38-hour week. That means you lot - reporters in the press gallery. Peter, log on! The legislation says that anybody who is not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket - Peter, you are not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket that I am aware of - will have to log on and companies will have to ensure that they meet the minimum conditions of workers averaging a 38-hour week. Why would companies want employees to log on? It is because penalties attach to any stop-work meeting. The rule is that anyone who stops work for 15 minutes will have four hours’ pay docked and will be expected to be back at work within the four hours working for nothing. I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : The document sets out to put 18-year-olds in its sight and it says to those 18-year-olds, who are going through a training system and bringing much-needed skills to Australia, that they would be the first people it would assassinate. That is an absolute un-Australian disgrace. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : If it was the only mistake in the past week, I could probably forgive that, as Easter is coming on. This is a time of forgiveness. I even intend to forgive most members opposite, with Easter coming on! I am going to keep a special place in my heart for some members opposite; however, I will not be able, even with Easter, to forgive this. What else did we see? A colleague of Victorian workers on a building site was killed on the building site. On the day their colleague was killed the workers had a stop-work meeting to have a whip-round to raise money for his widow. Everybody agreed to stop for 20 minutes and there was no argument from the bosses. The stoppage took 20 minutes - it was not an industrial dispute by any definition - to have a whip-round to pay for a funeral and to put some money into the hands of a widow. What happened? The employer sacked them. When confronted by the issue only days after the introduction of the new federal IR legislation, the employer said that he had no other choice and that the federal agreement told him that he must sack them. Again, Andrews had to come out and say that they had got it all wrong and that the legislation was not meant to be used in that way. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : We are now into day three of this legislation. Day one - shoot apprentices; day two - assassinate the widow and the family. This is how members of the federal government think. This is what their game is. This will all unfold. They are like a flower opening up at dawn: when they are in full bloom, the whole of Australia will be able to see them for what they are. They are a terrible weed. They ought to be eradicated. It goes on. This is what happened under this legislation on day four: Optus sacked 70 full-time workers and said that they could have their jobs back if they returned to Optus as independent contractors. Again, the federal minister said that the legislation was not meant to be used like that. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Then, just to make sure that we go right back to the Dark Ages, how does this IR document finish up? Every Australian worker, unless he or she earns more than $250 000 a year - Mr Andrews has allowed some sort of leeway - will be back on the punch card. People will have to clock on in the morning and clock off at night. The legislation says that the working hours of every employee must be logged to ensure that companies meet the minimum conditions for workers averaging a 38-hour week. That means you lot - reporters in the press gallery. Peter, log on! The legislation says that anybody who is not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket - Peter, you are not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket that I am aware of - will have to log on and companies will have to ensure that they meet the minimum conditions of workers averaging a 38-hour week. Why would companies want employees to log on? It is because penalties attach to any stop-work meeting. The rule is that anyone who stops work for 15 minutes will have four hours’ pay docked and will be expected to be back at work within the four hours working for nothing. I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : The document sets out to put 18-year-olds in its sight and it says to those 18-year-olds, who are going through a training system and bringing much-needed skills to Australia, that they would be the first people it would assassinate. That is an absolute un-Australian disgrace. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : If it was the only mistake in the past week, I could probably forgive that, as Easter is coming on. This is a time of forgiveness. I even intend to forgive most members opposite, with Easter coming on! I am going to keep a special place in my heart for some members opposite; however, I will not be able, even with Easter, to forgive this. What else did we see? A colleague of Victorian workers on a building site was killed on the building site. On the day their colleague was killed the workers had a stop-work meeting to have a whip-round to raise money for his widow. Everybody agreed to stop for 20 minutes and there was no argument from the bosses. The stoppage took 20 minutes - it was not an industrial dispute by any definition - to have a whip-round to pay for a funeral and to put some money into the hands of a widow. What happened? The employer sacked them. When confronted by the issue only days after the introduction of the new federal IR legislation, the employer said that he had no other choice and that the federal agreement told him that he must sack them. Again, Andrews had to come out and say that they had got it all wrong and that the legislation was not meant to be used in that way. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : We are now into day three of this legislation. Day one - shoot apprentices; day two - assassinate the widow and the family. This is how members of the federal government think. This is what their game is. This will all unfold. They are like a flower opening up at dawn: when they are in full bloom, the whole of Australia will be able to see them for what they are. They are a terrible weed. They ought to be eradicated. It goes on. This is what happened under this legislation on day four: Optus sacked 70 full-time workers and said that they could have their jobs back if they returned to Optus as independent contractors. Again, the federal minister said that the legislation was not meant to be used like that. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Then, just to make sure that we go right back to the Dark Ages, how does this IR document finish up? Every Australian worker, unless he or she earns more than $250 000 a year - Mr Andrews has allowed some sort of leeway - will be back on the punch card. People will have to clock on in the morning and clock off at night. The legislation says that the working hours of every employee must be logged to ensure that companies meet the minimum conditions for workers averaging a 38-hour week. That means you lot - reporters in the press gallery. Peter, log on! The legislation says that anybody who is not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket - Peter, you are not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket that I am aware of - will have to log on and companies will have to ensure that they meet the minimum conditions of workers averaging a 38-hour week. Why would companies want employees to log on? It is because penalties attach to any stop-work meeting. The rule is that anyone who stops work for 15 minutes will have four hours’ pay docked and will be expected to be back at work within the four hours working for nothing. I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : If it was the only mistake in the past week, I could probably forgive that, as Easter is coming on. This is a time of forgiveness. I even intend to forgive most members opposite, with Easter coming on! I am going to keep a special place in my heart for some members opposite; however, I will not be able, even with Easter, to forgive this. What else did we see? A colleague of Victorian workers on a building site was killed on the building site. On the day their colleague was killed the workers had a stop-work meeting to have a whip-round to raise money for his widow. Everybody agreed to stop for 20 minutes and there was no argument from the bosses. The stoppage took 20 minutes - it was not an industrial dispute by any definition - to have a whip-round to pay for a funeral and to put some money into the hands of a widow. What happened? The employer sacked them. When confronted by the issue only days after the introduction of the new federal IR legislation, the employer said that he had no other choice and that the federal agreement told him that he must sack them. Again, Andrews had to come out and say that they had got it all wrong and that the legislation was not meant to be used in that way. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : We are now into day three of this legislation. Day one - shoot apprentices; day two - assassinate the widow and the family. This is how members of the federal government think. This is what their game is. This will all unfold. They are like a flower opening up at dawn: when they are in full bloom, the whole of Australia will be able to see them for what they are. They are a terrible weed. They ought to be eradicated. It goes on. This is what happened under this legislation on day four: Optus sacked 70 full-time workers and said that they could have their jobs back if they returned to Optus as independent contractors. Again, the federal minister said that the legislation was not meant to be used like that. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Then, just to make sure that we go right back to the Dark Ages, how does this IR document finish up? Every Australian worker, unless he or she earns more than $250 000 a year - Mr Andrews has allowed some sort of leeway - will be back on the punch card. People will have to clock on in the morning and clock off at night. The legislation says that the working hours of every employee must be logged to ensure that companies meet the minimum conditions for workers averaging a 38-hour week. That means you lot - reporters in the press gallery. Peter, log on! The legislation says that anybody who is not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket - Peter, you are not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket that I am aware of - will have to log on and companies will have to ensure that they meet the minimum conditions of workers averaging a 38-hour week. Why would companies want employees to log on? It is because penalties attach to any stop-work meeting. The rule is that anyone who stops work for 15 minutes will have four hours’ pay docked and will be expected to be back at work within the four hours working for nothing. I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : If it was the only mistake in the past week, I could probably forgive that, as Easter is coming on. This is a time of forgiveness. I even intend to forgive most members opposite, with Easter coming on! I am going to keep a special place in my heart for some members opposite; however, I will not be able, even with Easter, to forgive this. What else did we see? A colleague of Victorian workers on a building site was killed on the building site. On the day their colleague was killed the workers had a stop-work meeting to have a whip-round to raise money for his widow. Everybody agreed to stop for 20 minutes and there was no argument from the bosses. The stoppage took 20 minutes - it was not an industrial dispute by any definition - to have a whip-round to pay for a funeral and to put some money into the hands of a widow. What happened? The employer sacked them. When confronted by the issue only days after the introduction of the new federal IR legislation, the employer said that he had no other choice and that the federal agreement told him that he must sack them. Again, Andrews had to come out and say that they had got it all wrong and that the legislation was not meant to be used in that way. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : We are now into day three of this legislation. Day one - shoot apprentices; day two - assassinate the widow and the family. This is how members of the federal government think. This is what their game is. This will all unfold. They are like a flower opening up at dawn: when they are in full bloom, the whole of Australia will be able to see them for what they are. They are a terrible weed. They ought to be eradicated. It goes on. This is what happened under this legislation on day four: Optus sacked 70 full-time workers and said that they could have their jobs back if they returned to Optus as independent contractors. Again, the federal minister said that the legislation was not meant to be used like that. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Then, just to make sure that we go right back to the Dark Ages, how does this IR document finish up? Every Australian worker, unless he or she earns more than $250 000 a year - Mr Andrews has allowed some sort of leeway - will be back on the punch card. People will have to clock on in the morning and clock off at night. The legislation says that the working hours of every employee must be logged to ensure that companies meet the minimum conditions for workers averaging a 38-hour week. That means you lot - reporters in the press gallery. Peter, log on! The legislation says that anybody who is not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket - Peter, you are not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket that I am aware of - will have to log on and companies will have to ensure that they meet the minimum conditions of workers averaging a 38-hour week. Why would companies want employees to log on? It is because penalties attach to any stop-work meeting. The rule is that anyone who stops work for 15 minutes will have four hours’ pay docked and will be expected to be back at work within the four hours working for nothing. I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
What else did we see? A colleague of Victorian workers on a building site was killed on the building site. On the day their colleague was killed the workers had a stop-work meeting to have a whip-round to raise money for his widow. Everybody agreed to stop for 20 minutes and there was no argument from the bosses. The stoppage took 20 minutes - it was not an industrial dispute by any definition - to have a whip-round to pay for a funeral and to put some money into the hands of a widow. What happened? The employer sacked them. When confronted by the issue only days after the introduction of the new federal IR legislation, the employer said that he had no other choice and that the federal agreement told him that he must sack them. Again, Andrews had to come out and say that they had got it all wrong and that the legislation was not meant to be used in that way. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : We are now into day three of this legislation. Day one - shoot apprentices; day two - assassinate the widow and the family. This is how members of the federal government think. This is what their game is. This will all unfold. They are like a flower opening up at dawn: when they are in full bloom, the whole of Australia will be able to see them for what they are. They are a terrible weed. They ought to be eradicated. It goes on. This is what happened under this legislation on day four: Optus sacked 70 full-time workers and said that they could have their jobs back if they returned to Optus as independent contractors. Again, the federal minister said that the legislation was not meant to be used like that. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Then, just to make sure that we go right back to the Dark Ages, how does this IR document finish up? Every Australian worker, unless he or she earns more than $250 000 a year - Mr Andrews has allowed some sort of leeway - will be back on the punch card. People will have to clock on in the morning and clock off at night. The legislation says that the working hours of every employee must be logged to ensure that companies meet the minimum conditions for workers averaging a 38-hour week. That means you lot - reporters in the press gallery. Peter, log on! The legislation says that anybody who is not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket - Peter, you are not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket that I am aware of - will have to log on and companies will have to ensure that they meet the minimum conditions of workers averaging a 38-hour week. Why would companies want employees to log on? It is because penalties attach to any stop-work meeting. The rule is that anyone who stops work for 15 minutes will have four hours’ pay docked and will be expected to be back at work within the four hours working for nothing. I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : We are now into day three of this legislation. Day one - shoot apprentices; day two - assassinate the widow and the family. This is how members of the federal government think. This is what their game is. This will all unfold. They are like a flower opening up at dawn: when they are in full bloom, the whole of Australia will be able to see them for what they are. They are a terrible weed. They ought to be eradicated. It goes on. This is what happened under this legislation on day four: Optus sacked 70 full-time workers and said that they could have their jobs back if they returned to Optus as independent contractors. Again, the federal minister said that the legislation was not meant to be used like that. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Then, just to make sure that we go right back to the Dark Ages, how does this IR document finish up? Every Australian worker, unless he or she earns more than $250 000 a year - Mr Andrews has allowed some sort of leeway - will be back on the punch card. People will have to clock on in the morning and clock off at night. The legislation says that the working hours of every employee must be logged to ensure that companies meet the minimum conditions for workers averaging a 38-hour week. That means you lot - reporters in the press gallery. Peter, log on! The legislation says that anybody who is not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket - Peter, you are not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket that I am aware of - will have to log on and companies will have to ensure that they meet the minimum conditions of workers averaging a 38-hour week. Why would companies want employees to log on? It is because penalties attach to any stop-work meeting. The rule is that anyone who stops work for 15 minutes will have four hours’ pay docked and will be expected to be back at work within the four hours working for nothing. I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : We are now into day three of this legislation. Day one - shoot apprentices; day two - assassinate the widow and the family. This is how members of the federal government think. This is what their game is. This will all unfold. They are like a flower opening up at dawn: when they are in full bloom, the whole of Australia will be able to see them for what they are. They are a terrible weed. They ought to be eradicated. It goes on. This is what happened under this legislation on day four: Optus sacked 70 full-time workers and said that they could have their jobs back if they returned to Optus as independent contractors. Again, the federal minister said that the legislation was not meant to be used like that. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Then, just to make sure that we go right back to the Dark Ages, how does this IR document finish up? Every Australian worker, unless he or she earns more than $250 000 a year - Mr Andrews has allowed some sort of leeway - will be back on the punch card. People will have to clock on in the morning and clock off at night. The legislation says that the working hours of every employee must be logged to ensure that companies meet the minimum conditions for workers averaging a 38-hour week. That means you lot - reporters in the press gallery. Peter, log on! The legislation says that anybody who is not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket - Peter, you are not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket that I am aware of - will have to log on and companies will have to ensure that they meet the minimum conditions of workers averaging a 38-hour week. Why would companies want employees to log on? It is because penalties attach to any stop-work meeting. The rule is that anyone who stops work for 15 minutes will have four hours’ pay docked and will be expected to be back at work within the four hours working for nothing. I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
It goes on. This is what happened under this legislation on day four: Optus sacked 70 full-time workers and said that they could have their jobs back if they returned to Optus as independent contractors. Again, the federal minister said that the legislation was not meant to be used like that. Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Then, just to make sure that we go right back to the Dark Ages, how does this IR document finish up? Every Australian worker, unless he or she earns more than $250 000 a year - Mr Andrews has allowed some sort of leeway - will be back on the punch card. People will have to clock on in the morning and clock off at night. The legislation says that the working hours of every employee must be logged to ensure that companies meet the minimum conditions for workers averaging a 38-hour week. That means you lot - reporters in the press gallery. Peter, log on! The legislation says that anybody who is not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket - Peter, you are not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket that I am aware of - will have to log on and companies will have to ensure that they meet the minimum conditions of workers averaging a 38-hour week. Why would companies want employees to log on? It is because penalties attach to any stop-work meeting. The rule is that anyone who stops work for 15 minutes will have four hours’ pay docked and will be expected to be back at work within the four hours working for nothing. I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
Several members interjected. Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Then, just to make sure that we go right back to the Dark Ages, how does this IR document finish up? Every Australian worker, unless he or she earns more than $250 000 a year - Mr Andrews has allowed some sort of leeway - will be back on the punch card. People will have to clock on in the morning and clock off at night. The legislation says that the working hours of every employee must be logged to ensure that companies meet the minimum conditions for workers averaging a 38-hour week. That means you lot - reporters in the press gallery. Peter, log on! The legislation says that anybody who is not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket - Peter, you are not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket that I am aware of - will have to log on and companies will have to ensure that they meet the minimum conditions of workers averaging a 38-hour week. Why would companies want employees to log on? It is because penalties attach to any stop-work meeting. The rule is that anyone who stops work for 15 minutes will have four hours’ pay docked and will be expected to be back at work within the four hours working for nothing. I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Then, just to make sure that we go right back to the Dark Ages, how does this IR document finish up? Every Australian worker, unless he or she earns more than $250 000 a year - Mr Andrews has allowed some sort of leeway - will be back on the punch card. People will have to clock on in the morning and clock off at night. The legislation says that the working hours of every employee must be logged to ensure that companies meet the minimum conditions for workers averaging a 38-hour week. That means you lot - reporters in the press gallery. Peter, log on! The legislation says that anybody who is not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket - Peter, you are not in the quarter of a million dollar bracket that I am aware of - will have to log on and companies will have to ensure that they meet the minimum conditions of workers averaging a 38-hour week. Why would companies want employees to log on? It is because penalties attach to any stop-work meeting. The rule is that anyone who stops work for 15 minutes will have four hours’ pay docked and will be expected to be back at work within the four hours working for nothing. I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
I will finish on this note: any employer who fails to comply with this legislation faces a fine of more than $27 000. It has been said many times before - Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
The SPEAKER : Order, members! Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH : Mr Speaker, listen to the hyenas howl! No wonder the Liberal Party is in opposition at a state level throughout Australia. This legislation will make sure that it stays there.
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