The Senate has voted to prioritise debate on Fair Work Amendments, which could bump a possible vote on overturning the Fair Work Commission’s Sunday Penalty Rate cuts to the front of the legislative agenda next week.
Concern is mounting that amendments to the the Fair Work Amendment (Repeal of 4 Yearly Reviews and Other Measures) Bill may now gain traction in the Senate next week, possibly ushering in a Lower House vote.
The amendments would effectively overturn the FWC’s Penalty Rates decision.
The move could test the Turnbull Government’s lack of a majority in the Lower House when sitting resumes next week, with Nationals MP George Christensen having already indicated his willingness to cross-the-floor.
Christensen sent a letter to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull last month threatening to cause “political damage” over the penalty rates issue when sitting resumes.
Christensen crossed the floor to support an attempt to pass an amendment that would have overturned the cuts in June, but the move was narrowly defeated 73-72.
That was before the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce and Bennelong MP John Alexander, who are both contesting by-elections after resigning under citizenship clouds
Australian Retailers Association executive director Russell Zimmerman said he does not want to pre-empt what may transpire next week, but that it was the ARA’s understanding that Labor will push an amendment.
Zimmerman will be flying into Canberra to meet with policy makers on Monday morning, including as Inside Retail understands George Christensen.
“[The Fair Work Amendment] is not about other issues and we need to concentrate on getting the government and crossbenchers to understand that,” Zimmerman said.
The National Retailers Association has accused the Senate of “moving the goalposts” on penalty rates, saying Labor was trying to change the rules it had created simply because it was unhappy with the decision made by the FWC in May.
“Because the Opposition doesn’t like the verdict given by its independent Commission, it wants to claim for the Parliament the right to set penalty rates and prevent the Commission making a fair and balanced decision after weighing up all the evidence,” NRA CEO Dominique Lamb said.
“This is an extraordinary over-reach, and one that should be voted down by sensible Senators who know that the independent Commission – not the Senate – is best placed to calmly and rationally assess all the evidence and make the best decision.”
The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA), which together with hospitality union United Voice attempted unsuccessfully to have the cuts overturned by the Federal Court in October, said it was pleased that the Turnbull Government will be forced to debate its own bill next week.
“We welcome the decision of the Senate to deal as a matter of priority, with the matter of protecting penalty rates which were unfairly cut for over 700,000 hardworking Australians,” SDA National Secretary Gerard Dwyer said.
Master Grocers Association (MGA) CEO Jos De Bruin said the move is “difficult to comprehend”.
“This has been done by those who have chosen to overturn a decision that was made by an organisation created by the parliament to make fair decisions for the future productivity and prosperity of this country. This action is difficult to comprehend when a group of politicians cannot accept the decision of the fairly constituted court,” he said.
He’s imploring the House of Representatives to “respect the FWC decision and not support the Bill”.
“It will wreak havoc in the retail industry and destroy the survival of thousands of small-to-medium family and private businesses that need this small window of opportunity to survive,” he said.
Update: 11:35 AEST
Labor has challenged rogue Nationals MP George Christensen to keep pressure on the government over penalty rates by backing protections when they go to the lower house.
The opposition, with the support of the Greens and crossbench senators, amended legislation in the Senate removing the requirement for four-yearly reviews of modern employment awards with a measure reversing the industrial umpire’s decision to reduce Sunday penalty rates.
Labor senator Doug Cameron said there was “no excuse” for Christensen, who introduced a private member’s bill with similar measures to parliament in July, to abandon his support for penalty rates when the legislation goes to the House of Representatives.
With AAP.
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