Mr LAUNDY (Reid—Minister for Small and Family Business, the Workplace and Deregulation) (15:26): I'm not surprised that so many people are off politics at the moment, because that was just an outright disgrace—a 10-minute character assassination of a man who was not born into money. He had a single father. His father was a hotel broker—known to my grandfather—who did his best. And now the Deputy Leader of the Opposition is going to shame me. Opposition members interjecting— Mr LAUNDY: And I'm happy to take the interjection. I'm the grandson of an orphan who left an orphanage at 15 with the clothes on his back. He put everything on the line. He aspired, with my grandmother, to start our business. Am I ashamed of that? No, I'm not. What have I done? I've spent 23 years working and growing that business, working side by side with my staff. As for the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, in all her mentions of all the workers, the one thing she didn't mention was that every worker employed, that she mentioned, came at the end of a small and family business operator—the overwhelming majority of them—putting their family home on the line, taking a risk, backing themselves and employing people. I get asked this question by parents all the time: 'Where are my kids' jobs going to come from?' And I'm sure they're hoping for some pearl of wisdom about the internet of things, Industry 4.0, machine learning and artificial intelligence. The reality is simple: the jobs of tomorrow are going to come from where they've always come from—entrepreneurs prepared to back themselves, take on bank debt, start a business, grow that business and employ people. That's exactly what the Prime Minister has done in his career. He started in his career as a lawyer. And he moved to the private sector afterwards. It's so sad! Modern politics—do you want to know why people are so off it? Ten minutes of tearing apart someone who should be a role model—the same as you; you all should be role models. We should be proud of our politicians in this place. Why? Because a person like the Prime Minister has seen fit to turn his back on his own career and serve the public, as you all have. But what do we do in this place? We stand here and we assassinate the reputation of everyone. Well, I say: rubbish! And I'm not surprised people are over it, because I'm over it too. The Leader of the Opposition wants to stand at the dispatch box and do the same as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Yet his pathway to where he sits today was absolutely privileged as well. And good luck to him. He shouldn't be embarrassed by it; he should be proud of it. He's here serving his community. But what do we do? We just want to throw barbs at either side of the chamber. Do you know what? The Prime Minister of this country is a role model. He should be proud of his journey. People should see what he's had the chance to do and be encouraged by it. They might want to do the same. Mr Rob Mitchell: Avoiding tax. The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Mr Hogan ): The member for McEwen is warned. Mr LAUNDY: As for the Deputy Leader of the Opposition and her selective rendition on penalty rates—I've met a few young students in my electorate, working on the weekends at McDonald's for six hours on Saturday and six hours on a Sunday. They will be $15,000 worse off over the next three years because of the EBA they are signed up to. Mr Rob Mitchell: That's crap! Mr LAUNDY: That is absolutely the truth. Mr Rob Mitchell: No, it's not. Mr LAUNDY: They are $15,000 worse off. Why? The pay rise from Monday to Friday that was meant to compensate for that doesn't do it if they only work Saturdays and Sundays. It doesn't do it. Those opposite put in place the better off overall test. They now claim it's broken. Coles have had their EBA struck out because of exactly what I said. It's not me; it's the Fair Work Commission. Mr Rob Mitchell: Rubbish! Mr LAUNDY: It's not rubbish. It was the Fair Work Commission. At Big W, if they work Saturdays and Sundays, over the next three years they'll be $13,400 worse off. At Woolworths, if they work Saturdays and Sundays—and we're talking about school kids— Mr Rob Mitchell: So they don't work during the week? Mr LAUNDY: Part-time workers don't; they work on Saturdays and Sundays because they're at school during the week. I'm talking about school students. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition wants to stand here and say that we're for cutting penalty rates. The Fair Work Commission came up with the decision, and we respect the independence of the Fair Work Commission. We weren't on our own. In 2010 the Fair Work Commission reduced weekend award rates in restaurant awards. The shadow minister at the time was the current opposition leader. He did not say boo. In 2014, when he was the opposition leader, weekend awards were reduced. Not only did he not say anything; the shadow minister for industrial relations actually respected the outcome of the decision, saying, 'That's what the Fair Work Commission is there to do.' Why? You put it in place. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition put the Fair Work Commission in place between 2007 and 2009—and the Leader of the Opposition has the gall! When he was a union leader, CleanEvent lost all penalty rates on weekends, no matter who you were, under their EBA. The Leader of the Opposition had a personal involvement in that. This is the reality of where we find ourselves. The topic of the MPI is 'this government's failure to respect the contribution of Australian workers'. What are we doing for Australian workers? We're not just talking; we're actually doing something. There's the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Vulnerable Workers) Act and $21 million of additional resources to the Fair Work Ombudsman to make sure that employers not paying their people in the right way are caught and prosecuted—as they should be. The Turnbull government does not stand beside any business that does the wrong thing by workers. Indeed, it empowers the watchdog, the Fair Work Ombudsman, to do their job. The Leader of the Opposition, when he was in charge of the portfolio, drastically reduced the resources to the Fair Work Ombudsman and cut their staff as well. When the protecting vulnerable workers bill was sent to the Senate, what did they do? They voted against it. They say one thing here and they say another thing when it suits. The inconsistency is across the board. It's across all things. Yet they say they are protecting Australian workers. Again, those opposite like to talk about the rise and the threat of the gig economy. The Fair Work Ombudsman two weeks ago brought action against Foodora. The system is working exactly as it should— Mr Rob Mitchell: By giving tax cuts to people who steal superannuation? Mr LAUNDY: I'll take the interjection—stealing superannuation. The 769 workers dudded by Queensland Nickel in Townsville were compensated to the tune of $67 million by the Fair Entitlements Guarantee. The Queensland Supreme Court two weeks ago froze the assets of former member and owner of Queensland Nickel Clive Palmer to the tune of $205 million. Our great hope is that the action we're taking in the courts will, as it unfolds, return every cent that the workers of Queensland Nickel are owed—that they are entitled to. This is the reality. Those opposite want to hypothesise or character slay; we're interested in results. Today there are more people working than ever before in our country's history. That comes at the end of 4½ years of strong economic management. It doesn't come at the end of taking a punt or having a crack; it comes at the end of strong economic management. Of the one million jobs that have been created—417,000-odd in the last 12 months—80 per cent are full-time jobs, and this is at a time when the union movement in this country is claiming that we have a crisis of occasional work. Eighty per cent of the jobs created in the last 12 months are full-time. Twenty-five per cent of jobs in the last 20 years—and it hasn't changed—have been casual, predominantly filled by school students, uni students and carers, and they get a 25 per cent loading. Another myth that those opposite like to propagate is that those on casual wages aren't compensated for holiday pay. That's rubbish. They get a 25 per cent loading for that. That is the reality of what we face with those opposite—character assassination after character assassination, and misrepresentation of the truth. The reality of where we find ourselves today economically is that more workers than ever have a job. That comes at the end of a plan. What do we want to do? We want to continue to decrease personal and company tax. We don't think that is our money, unlike those opposite. We think that companies or individuals should keep their profit from their labour. It's their profit or wage, not ours. We on this side get that. I know that those opposite don't get it. They've never actually put their hand in their own pocket and paid anyone themselves. They've never run their own business. Their ignorance is stunning. The character assassination isn't worth the paper it is written on.