Amanda Rishworth
Kingston · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“He contacted my office to let me know that this will make a huge difference to him and other young people in the retail workspace who now feel they can get ahead and start saving for a home. Tax cuts are also coming in on 1 July.”
“Of course, the Labor Party is the party of superannuation. We firmly believe that superannuation enables people to save for their retirement. It is a very important reform.”
“Yesterday was 1 July, and this was a really important day where a lot of cost-of-living help was provided by this government. Starting from 1 July, I'm really very pleased that workers that rely on the national minimum wage and national minimum award wages will have seen a boost to their wages.”
“We know that this government is backing not only a minimum wage rise but also tax cuts for workers. This government is delivering a fairer tax system for hardworking Australians. From today, over 14 million taxpayers will get a tax cut delivered by this Labor government.”
“I'd like to thank the member for Moreton for her question and for her years and years of standing up for working Australians in this place and before she came here. This Albanese Labor government is delivering real change for Australians with a range of cost-of-living measures coming in from today.”
“Our commitment to boost the minimum wage has been welcomed by workers like Bianca. Bianca is a retail worker, and she said, 'Getting this pay rise helps those in less fortunate situations like me.' This pay rise means that Raj, a support worker, can afford to buy a new bike for his son, which he has been asking for.”
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“It will not require the commission to undertake a review of all modern awards, initiate a review of any award terms outside of the scope of application before the commission or exercise its power under part 2-3 of the Fair Work Act to make, vary or revoke modern awards. For many award-reliant employees, penalty and overtime rates are a critical part of their take-home pay. Earlier this week, we did hear a very long and wide-ranging speech from the shadow minister. He got a lot of his thoughts and feelings out about a lot of things, including our consultation process, but, more concerningly, he is running a deep, disingenuous scare campaign about the impact of this bill on small business. To be very, very clear, our legislation is about protecting what is currently in place.”
“It has been suggested that this bill could require the commission to review all modern awards for compliance with the new principle or to review penalty and overtime rates, even if that is beyond the scope of a specific application. This has never been the intent of our bill, and we are confident that the bill, as introduced, would not have operated in this way. However, this government is committed to genuine consultation, including with employer representatives and unions. We are amending the bill for the avoidance of doubt and to further provide certainty to stakeholders. This bill is unequivocally clear.”
“Enterprise bargaining can facilitate innovation and a greater acceptance of new technology, and can foster skills growth for employees, all of which enhance productivity. Whenever we stand up for workers' pay, the Liberals oppose it. Our position here is simple, and it will never change. We want people to earn more and keep more of what they earn. We, of course, respect the commission's role as an independent industrial tribunal. The commission will continue to interpret and apply the Fair Work Act, including the new principle introduced by this bill. This process will be guided by its usual consultative approach, ensuring all interested parties have the opportunity to present their views. This bill also preserves the commission's existing powers to remove ambiguity and uncertainty or to correct an error in the modern award.”
“To address questions about the bill's impact on productivity: it has never been and never will be the solution to make workers do more for less. This government is committed to providing productivity and enhancing economic resilience, but we do not accept that sending hardworking award-covered workers backwards through the reduction of their penalty and overtime rates is the way to do this. The path to achieving flexibility and productivity gains can be found in good faith enterprise bargaining, rather than by undermining award entitlements. Our bargaining reforms increased access for workers and employers, including small businesses, to negotiate agreements with their employees and unions.”
“To be very clear, this bill does not alter existing employer obligations, including those of small business. Despite the scare campaign being run by the shadow minister, this bill does not introduce new costs or impose additional requirements on small business or any business. I have engaged in detailed consultation on the amendment with both unions and employer groups, including small business representatives, through the National Workplace Relations Consultative Council and the Committee on Industrial Legislation. Employers already have an ongoing responsibility to correctly apply the relevant modern award, including the payment of penalty and overtime rates where required. This bill does not change that. It does not apply retrospectively, and neither does it impose new obligations on employers or disrupt day-to-day operations.”
“We've heard real-life evidence and examples of what protecting penalty and overtime rates means for the lives and livelihoods of award covered workers. For example, we heard last night from the member for Hasluck about two constituents in her electorate who have relied on penalty rates. The first, John, said his penalty rates provided the security that got him through university and that they have provided him with the means to start full-time work with some savings in his pocket. The member also talked about a constituent named Lucinda, who said, 'As a full-time student, penalty rates are not a luxury but what allowed me to attend class.' We've heard questions in this debate about how small businesses will be impacted by this bill.”
“It does this by inserting a clear principle requiring that, in exercising its powers to make, vary or revoke modern awards, the commission must ensure that the penalty rate or overtime rate that employees are entitled to receive is not reduced and that modern awards do not include terms that substitute employees' entitlements to receive penalty or overtime rates that do not fairly compensate employees for the penalty and overtime rates they would otherwise receive. This bill does not affect individual flexibility arrangements, the bargaining framework or the Fair Work Commission's ability to correct errors or clarify award terms. The bill introduces a simple amendment to ensure that penalty and overtime rates in the modern award safety net are protected. The feedback on this reform has been resoundingly positive.”
“We promised this bill as one of the first legislative acts of this government, because we will always act to make sure that workers cannot go backwards. Currently, penalty and overtime rates in modern awards can be rolled up into a single rate of pay, leaving some employees worse off. This shouldn't be possible. Award-reliant employees who rely on their penalty and overtime rates deserve guaranteed protection of those entitlements in the minimum safety net. This bill introduces a clear and simple new principle into the Fair Work Act to protect penalty and overtime rates in modern awards. Specifically, it sets out the important principle that penalty and overtime rates cannot be reduced or substituted in ways that do not fairly compensate employees for the penalty and overtime rates they would otherwise receive.”
“I would like to thank all members for their contributions to the debate on the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates) Bill 2025. This bill is a clear, simple and practical amendment to protect penalty and overtime rates as fundamental entitlements relied on by millions of award-reliant Australian workers. The Albanese government is committed to delivering workplace relations reforms with a clear goal in sight: to get wages moving for Australian workers. I've heard strong support for this bill and the fundamental importance of penalty and overtime rates for employees, particularly from some of the lowest paid workers in our country, those who keep Australia running on weekends, public holidays, early mornings and late nights.”
“The shadow minister was so desperate to stand in the way of protecting penalty rates that earlier today he tried to delay our penalty rates bill by referring it to a committee that doesn't even exist. I have seen a lot of creative ways—”
“For some of these workers, if this case was to succeed, it is estimated they could stand to lose up to $10,000 through a reduction of their penalty rates and overtime rates. For some of our lowest-paid workers, this would be a huge cut to their take-home pay. Our government is taking urgent and decisive action to ensure the pay of hardworking Australians is protected. We've been very, very clear about our commitment. We've engaged in genuine consultation, right across the board, with employers, unions and—for the benefit of the shadow minister—small business as well, about our very simple proposition, which is to protect penalty rates and overtime rates. I'm asked about any potential risk to these protections, and, unfortunately, the risk is those opposite.”
“I thank the member for Chisholm not only for the question but her advocacy for working people in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. Of course in our first term, the Albanese government delivered landmark workplace relations reforms, with one goal: to get wages moving. Now we are continuing that work by delivering on our very clear and very simple election commitment to protect penalty and overtime rates in modern awards for 2.6 million low-paid workers. Our government believes that workers deserve laws that ensure their pay does not go backwards. I've been asked why this legislation is urgent. There are cases underway right now to trade away penalty and overtime rates for some our lowest paid workers, in particular in the retail industry. The retail award sets the pay of 350,000 workers directly and another 690,000 workers indirectly.”
“But I'm asked, 'Are there any risks to protecting low-paid workers in Australia?' Unfortunately, there are. The risk is those opposite. It was disappointing to see the shadow minister out there fearmongering about our commitment to protecting penalty rates. He is now describing our decisive action as disturbing and distressing. I will tell him what is disturbing and distressing. It is the risk to workers like Bernie, Sara Lee and the many others who rely on penalty and overtime rates. While the opposition rails against our commitment to take swift action to protect penalty rates, we will get on with the job to ensure Australians earn more and keep more of what they earn.”
“At the election we also committed to protecting penalty rates. Last week, the government introduced legislation to do just that. If you rely on penalty rates through the modern award safety net—if you work weekends, public holidays, early mornings, late nights—you deserve to have your wages protected. This includes people like Bernie, a youth worker, who said: 'as an essential worker we give up our own family time because we come to work instead. Penalty rates provide better recognition for the complex work we do.' For Sara Lee, a family therapist, receiving penalty rates means, 'I'm compensated for the time I can't be with family and means I get a better income so I can look after my family and other ways.' That's what our legislation is about: protecting the wages of hardworking Australians.”
“I'd like to thank the member for Macnamara for his question and congratulate him on his big personal news and also thank him for his commitment to helping some of our lowest paid workers. The government's No. 1 focus is delivering cost-of-living relief, and this is particularly true for our lowest paid workers. We are committed to getting wages moving again. In the previous term of government, our government proudly made submissions to the Fair Work Commission every single year to advocate for a wage rise for our lowest paid workers. This year we made a submission calling for a real wage increase for the workers that rely on minimum and award wages. From 1 July this year, almost three million of our lowest paid workers will receive a 3.5 per cent wage increase, representing a real wage increase.”
“Just not go to the movies, not ever have a holiday … It's for workers like Liarne and Daniel we made a clear election promise that we would legislate to protect penalty rates, and this promise was clearly endorsed by the Australian people. This plan was endorsed by the Australian people. While Daniel and Liarne back our plan to protect penalty rates, it is disappointing that the coalition are not making their position clear. They seem to be having a bob each way, on one hand supporting Australian workers and on the other hand talking Australian workers down. Well, while the coalition dither around on whether or not they will back Australian workers, it is this Labor government that's getting on with the job of delivering our commitment to protect people's pay, ensuring people earn more and keep more of what they earn here in Australia.”
“They compensate people for working irregular hours and are an essential feature of many workers' take-home pay. I've been asked what the response has been to this very important legislation and our commitment to protecting penalty rates. I met with Liarne, a retail worker, on Saturday. Penalty rates for her make up about $7,500 per year in her pay packet. When Liarne gets home from her late shifts, her partner is already in bed, and she told me it can be really isolating. That's why penalty rates matter to Liarne. They allow her to earn more and keep more of what she earns, being compensated for her late-night work. For workers like Daniel—when speaking about what life would be like if he didn't have penalty rates, he said: … I'd have to work more. See my family less, see my dog less, see my friends less.”
“I'd like to thank the member for Leichhardt for that question. It was wonderful to visit with him workers in Cairns just last week, talking about how important fair wages and conditions are. Of course, in our first term, our government has delivered landmark legislation when it comes to industrial relations, with a clear goal of getting wages moving again. Building on this today, I've introduced legislation to protect the penalty rates and overtime rates of 2.6 million workers in this country. We know that right now the modern award safety net can be undermined. Some employers already have applications on foot to trade away penalty rates of low-paid workers, and, of course, that would leave some workers worse off. Penalty rates and overtime rates matter.”
“This is especially true in sectors like retail and hospitality, where work often takes place at unsociable and irregular hours and where workers are among the lowest paid in our economy. This bill is about fairness. It's about respecting the millions of Australians who work those public holidays, weekends, late nights and early mornings to keep Australia going. And it's about making sure that the safety net does what it's meant to do—protect those most in need. I commend the bill to the House. Debate adjourned.”
“Encouraging workers and business to engage with good-faith bargaining gives workers access to improved conditions and can help business owners attract and retain talent. This can improve the relationships in the workplace, facilitating innovation, greater acceptance of new technology and the fostering of skills growth for employees—all of which enhance productivity. Enterprise agreements continue to be subject to the better off overall test, ensuring that employees are better off overall compared to the relevant modern award. That safeguard remains unchanged. Conclusion For many modern award reliant employees, penalty and overtime rates are not optional extras; they are a critical part of their take-home pay.”
“The government has reinvigorated the enterprise bargaining system so that we now have a record-high number of employees covered by federal enterprise agreements that are delivering real wage increases for Australian workers. As at 31 March 2025, the commission approved 9,829 agreements since our reforms, covering nearly 2.5 million employees. The average annual wage increase for those agreements is 3.8 per cent, compared to a 2.7 per cent increase in 2022, and the 5-year average preceding the legislation, which was also 2.7 per cent. As at 31 March 2025, almost 2.7 million employees were covered by a current enterprise agreement—the highest coverage since bargaining began in 1991. And for the sixth consecutive quarter, wage growth in newly approved enterprise agreements outpaced inflation.”
“Role of the Commission We respect the Fair Work Commission's role as the independent industrial tribunal. That role is unchanged. The commission will continue to interpret and apply the Fair Work Act, including the new principle introduced by this bill. This process will be guided by its usual consultative approach, ensuring all interested parties have the opportunity to present their views. This bill also preserves the commission's existing powers to remove an ambiguity, uncertainty or to correct an error in a modern award. Interactions with bargaining The appropriate place to negotiate on entitlements is the enterprise bargaining system. We want to see enterprise bargaining. Enterprise agreements deliver better deals for working people, better wages and conditions and more cooperative and productive workplaces.”
“This bill will also not affect the enterprise bargaining framework, which is the right place for employers to directly negotiate with employees and their unions to achieve flexible and productive gains with appropriate safeguards in place such as the better-off-overall test. We have consulted closely with stakeholders to ensure these reforms are practical and balanced. Importantly, the changes introduced by this bill will not disrupt employers' day-to-day operations. The amendments will not apply retrospectively. Employers covered by the award system already have an ongoing responsibility to correctly apply the relevant modern award. Where that award provides for employees to be paid penalty and overtime rates, that obligation will just continue. This bill does not impose new obligations beyond that existing responsibility.”
“And exemption rate proposals that diminish workers' take-home pay cannot succeed in the future. This bill does not stop parties engaging on ways to make awards easier to use, or ensuring that award terms can adapt to modern working needs. For example, parties will still be able to put the case to the commission about appropriate hours of work terms, but where that case involves a penalty or overtime rate the commission will also need to consider this new principle. This bill does not impact individual employment contracts. It does not apply to individual flexibility arrangements.”
“When exercising its powers under part 2-3 of the Fair Work Act to make, vary or revoke modern awards, the Fair Work Commission must ensure: This bill is designed to be simple, fair, and workable. It introduces a high-level principle, not a prescriptive rule, because we are committed to strengthening the modern awards system without adding unnecessary complexity. It is targeted to modern award terms that are about the 'percentage' of penalty or overtime rate to be paid and terms that reduce workers' pay by 'rolling up' penalty and overtime rates with other modern award terms into a single rate of pay. It means modern award covered workers who rely on penalty and overtime rates as a critical part of their overall pay no longer have to worry about reductions to those rates.”
“In the retail case, our government intervened to argue as a matter of principle the wages of low-paid workers should not go backwards. Because that's not fair. And it's not what Australians expect of our workplace relations system. This legislation will mean that proposals like these cannot be included in modern awards, which act as our safety net, and ensures penalty and overtime rates of low-paid workers are protected. Operation of the principle This bill will amend the Fair Work Act 2009 to enshrine protections for penalty rates and overtime rates in modern awards. The bill introduces a new section, 135A, which establishes a clear and important principle.”
“What's at stake This bill is about safeguarding fundamental entitlements for around 2.6 million modern award-reliant Australian workers. We know that, right now, the modern award safety net can be undermined. Currently, penalty rates and overtime rates in modern awards can be rolled up into a single rate of pay that leaves employees worse off. There are current cases on foot where employers in the retail, clerical and banking sectors have made applications to the Fair Work Commission to trade away penalty rates of lower paid workers on awards. We know the coalition are all too willing to back these applications. Former Liberal leader Peter Dutton confirmed it when he said 'we don't propose any departure from the current arrangements.' We took a very different approach.”
“Or Eryn, a grocery store worker from South Australia: I miss out on time with my children and my husband who works long hours, time spent with friends or family during off days, downtime to rest and recover. Earning penalty rates makes it worthwhile being away from family and not taking the day to be able to rest and recover. It is extra money earnt for choosing to work rather than enjoy a day off. Or Gary: Because of the hours I work, I miss out on parts of our family life and being with friends. When most people are at home enjoying their time and doing things with their family, I'm working. If I have to work late or on weekends I like to be compensated for the time I miss with my family watching them play sports and growing up.”
“They are a longstanding feature and a vital part of the modern award safety net, which supports some of our lowest paid workers in our country. Relative to all employees, award-reliant employees are more likely to be women, work part time, be under the age of 35 and employed on a casual basis—people like Emily, a retail worker from New South Wales expecting her first child and in the middle of moving houses: On my normal rates it's a struggle to be able to afford the necessities, but with the penalty rates, it lets me breathe. It gives me room to be able to save a little for my bubba, and to help me move to make sure my new little family has a roof over our heads. It also helps in times for when the bills pile up.”
“Our same job, same pay laws have seen thousands of workers receiving up to $60,000 extra in their pay packets each year. More than half of employers who responded to a recent Australian HR Institute survey said our right-to-disconnect laws had improved employee engagement and productivity. The latest figures on enterprise bargaining show that nearly 2.7 million Australians are now covered by current enterprise agreements—the highest coverage on record since enterprise bargaining commenced in 1991. Our laws are working to deliver real wage increases, improved conditions, and more cooperative and productive workplaces. Now, we are continuing that work with a bill to protect penalty rates and overtime rates in modern awards. Why penalty and overtime rates matter Penalty rates and overtime rates matter.”
“We put gender equality at the heart of the workplace relations framework, helping drive the gender pay gap to its lowest level on record. We improved workplace conditions and protections right across the board. And in every annual wage review since taking office, we've backed minimum wage increases, with our most recent submission calling for an economically sustainable real wage increase. I'm pleased that from 1 July minimum wages have been increased by 3.5 per cent. These were significant and important reforms, and we fought hard to deliver them because working Australians deserve fair pay and decent conditions. And we know that our changes to legislation are delivering improved outcomes for working people and employers.”
“I move: That this bill be now read a second time. Introduction I proudly introduce this legislation, delivering on our key election commitment to protect penalty rates. The intent of this bill is simple. If you rely on the modern award safety net and work weekends, public holidays, early mornings or late nights, you deserve to have your wages protected. You deserve laws that ensure your pay will not go backwards. Our laws are working In our first term, the Albanese Government delivered landmark workplace relations reforms with a clear goal—getting wages moving for Australian workers. We addressed loopholes that undermine principles of fairness and improved access to secure jobs and better pay. We reinvigorated enterprise bargaining, which results in more cooperative, productive workplaces.”
“Our government is backing Aussie workers. The Albanese Labor government is focused on delivering on our commitments to build Australia's future, ease cost-of-living pressures and help Australians earn more and keep more of what they earn.”
“We've backed and funded a 15 per cent pay increase for early educators and up to 28.5 per cent for workers in aged care. These workers have been undervalued for too long, and our government values them. Ensuring Aussie workers earn more and keep more of what they earn is a key focus for our government. We are now delivering on our election commitments. We made a submission to the Fair Work Commission for a real wage increase for our lowest paid workers. Now, minimum-wage earners are earning $9,120 more a year since we were first elected in 2022. Our government will ban unfair non-compete clauses that are holding Aussies back from moving into better, higher paid jobs. Tomorrow, I will introduce legislation to protect the penalty rates and overtime rates in modern awards so workers who rely on the safety net will not go backwards.”
“We have reinvigorated the bargaining system, making it easier for employers and employees to make agreements in workplaces, with the number of employees covered by enterprise agreements now at a record high. Of course, we know that workers on agreements benefit from bigger wage increases. We've also closed the labour hire loophole with our 'same job, same pay' changes—meaning some workers are now earning $60,000 more as a result. Our right-to-disconnect laws have given workers the right to clock off. A recent HR Institute study found that more than half of businesses reported that our changes improved engagement and productivity. We're closing the gender pay gap. We've seen the gender pay gap hit a record low under our government.”
“I'd like to thank the member for Banks for the question and also congratulate him on his election and his inspiring first speech this morning. Every day since coming into government, this side of the House has been absolutely focused on supporting Australians with the cost of living. One of the key ways we are doing this is by getting wages moving again. Of course, we have introduced measures that have improved wages for working people, and this has been after a decade, under those opposite, of deliberate wage suppression. We're now seeing the return of real wages growth, with annual real wages growing for 18 months in a row under Labor.”
“We are building on a record that we can be proud of, not making empty promises like those opposite. We actually deliver. Of course, this is all at risk under the Liberals and the Leader of the Opposition, who have recklessly opposed every single cost-of-living measure introduced by our government. I hear today they're going to oppose and repeal our tax cuts too. This is the modern Liberal Party. But we are not going to let that happen. We have our eyes focused on the election and building Australia's future. Our focus has been how we build Medicare, how we build universal early education in this country, how we ensure that we continue to deliver responsible cost-of-living relief for Australians and how we are more resilient as a country. That's what's at risk this election from those opposite and that's what the Labor Party has to offer.”
“We are delivering cost-of-living relief to all Australians through tax cuts for every taxpayer, not just high-income earners, along with cheaper medicines, energy bill relief, wiping student debt and cheaper child care. We have strengthened our social safety net to include legislating the largest increase in paid parental leave since its inception, and we will pay super on it. We've been rebuilding our essential services, like Medicare, aged care and the NDIS, and starting the largest housing build under our housing for Australia plan, which will deliver 1.2 million homes. Not only has our government taken action on climate change as a good global citizen; it has embraced it as a competitive advantage opportunity to build our country's economic capability.”
“Over the last three years the Albanese Labor government has been working to build Australia's future. When we were elected after 10 years of the coalition being in government, inflation was rising and wages were going backwards through a deliberate design feature of their policy. There were year-on-year cuts to Medicare, hospitals, schools, TAFEs and other essential services. There were 23 failed energy policies, and that was after the Liberals' famous promise in 2013—no cuts to education, no cuts to health, no cuts to family payments, no cuts to the pension. We saw cuts to all of those things. Over the last three years, our government has worked hard to clean up the mess left behind and to deliver for the Australian people. Under our government, inflation is down, wages are moving again and more Australians than ever before are in a job.”
“Rosemary understood that, if we are going to get policies that serve families and serve women in this place, then we need to have women at the table, and she paved that way for so many women. For me, her personal support well after she left politics was really appreciated. As I said, she turned up to fundraisers. You wonder if you have to do that after you leave this place, but she continued to turn up to my fundraisers and continued to support me in my role as the member for Kingston, and I would be very appreciative. She was an inspiration to me and many others. I look to her as a real trailblazer within the Labor Party and within the South Australian branch of the Labor Party. To be quite frank, without people like Rosemary Crowley I wouldn't be in this parliament today. Vale Rosemary Crowley.”
“I have to say that, in doing so and through her subsequent career in the Senate, she really demonstrated that the preselectors absolutely got it right. Not only her legacy and her contribution—whether it was advocacy for Medicare or her advocacy for needs based childcare—but her advocacy for women really did pave the way in the South Australian branch of the Labor Party for people like myself to put their hand up for public office. There are now three female Labor senators from South Australia, and the Labor Party continues to preselect and elect women not just in your marginal seats but in safe seats, in very winnable seats, so that women can take up their rightful place.”
“I think this was very fitting because, as many previous speakers have said, her fierce advocacy for women's right to be in the parliament cannot be understated. Through her 19 years in the Senate, Rosemary was the only female Labor senator from South Australia. It was her putting her hand up and, as we heard at her memorial, the subsequent preselection battle that really inspired so many other women to put their hands up. She really did pave the way within the party to put one's hand up for preselection. At the memorial it was really lovely to hear former senator Chris Schacht talk about the way she did this. She did this in a way where she called everyone, left no stone unturned, but forthrightly put forward the contributions she could make to the Senate, and she was preselected.”
“She shared these words to capture what she wished to offer in her contributions to politics, adding 'The quality of people's lives is very much part of what "bread and roses" means.' In her speech and throughout her time as a senator, Rosemary sought to improve the quality of life for people by improving education and support for people in the community to manage their own lives without fear of discrimination, and by being involved in decisions that impacted them through the Hawke government programs of consolidation and care. Senator Crowley was subsequently re-elected in the eighties and nineties, and in 1993 was appointed by Prime Minister Keating as Minister for Family Services and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Status of Women.”
“On return to Australia from Berkeley, California, in 1969 Dr Crowley joined the Australian Labor Party and experienced the excitement of the Whitlam government in 1972 and the subsequent disappointment of the 1975 dismissal. Rosemary then contested the seat of Mitcham in the South Australian parliament in 1977 and 1979, before being elected as fifth on this Senate ticket in the 1983 double-dissolution. In her maiden speech in the Senate on 4 May 1983, Senator Crowley spoke of her campaign theme, 'Bread and Roses', a song with origins in the Industrial Workers of the World songbook.”
“That was the commitment she had. You only hope when you leave this place and leave office that you will continue to encourage and inspire others, and that is certainly what Rosemary did for me. Rosemary Anne Willis—later Crowley—was born in Melbourne in 1938, the second of six children. Her Roman Catholic upbringing and her primary and secondary education instilled a passion for social justice and a vocation for community service. Rosemary later completed a medical degree at the University of Melbourne before undertaking a residency as a medical officer at St Vincent's Hospital. She later worked as a pathologist at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne.”
“She was a fierce advocate for affirmative action and for our Labor caucus to be 50 per cent women—a goal that has now been achieved in the Albanese Labor government and in South Australia's Malinauskas government. I know Rosemary Crowley would have been very proud of this. My first memory of Rosemary Crowley wasn't of her as a person but of the inside of her office, because she opened up her office for young Labor volunteers working hard on election campaigns. She would come in and give us a bit of encouragement, late at night, sometimes. In those days you had to stand over a photocopier to print the fliers you were going to distribute. My connection with Rosemary went for much longer than that. Even after she had left politics, she was regularly providing support to me in many different ways, most recently attending my fundraisers.”
“Today I rise to pay tribute and to offer my condolences in this place for the late Senator, the Hon. Rosemary Crowley AO. Dr Crowley is survived by her three sons—Stephen, Vincent and Diarmuid—and two grandchildren—Ella and Leo. It was a great privilege to attend the memorial service just last Saturday for Dr Crowley. In saying that, I did, with profound sadness, enjoy listening to the stories told about Rosemary, particularly by or on behalf of her children. It was a tribute to what a great mum she was, and I really want to acknowledge that. Senator Rosemary Crowley was the first female Labor senator from my home state of South Australia.”
“If elected, they've said that they will start by making $350 billion worth of cuts to government payments and government services. This is to pay for their $600 billion nuclear folly. We know that this means cuts for pensioners, single parents, students and families. You might ask: how do we know that? We know it because they've done it before. We all remember 'no cuts to the pension'. That was a Tony Abbott promise. When they were in government, they cut the pension, they cut family payments and they tried to end bulk-billing and make medicines more expensive. There is a choice in this election. Australians can look to us, the Labor government, to build a better future, or to those opposite, who cannot deal with the costs that this Leader of the Opposition will impose. When he cuts, Australians pay. (Time expired)”
“Alongside that, we also have our regular indexation, to ensure that payments keep pace with the cost of living. Combined with indexation and our back-to-back increases in Commonwealth rent assistance, rent assistance has increased by 45 per cent in the three years since Labor was elected. Pensions are up by 16.7 per cent, giving a single age pensioner an extra $150 in their pocket every fortnight. This is complemented by Labor's changes to make medicines cheaper, to help households with their power bills and to strengthen Medicare. The member has asked me what other approaches there could be to make people worse off, and I will point her to those opposite, who have declared that government spending on increases in payments, increases in rent assistance and indexation is reckless and wasteful.”
“I'd like to thank the member for Werriwa for her question and for her advocacy for families and people in her electorate. Of course, throughout this term of government, Labor has been working hard to support every Australian deal with the global cost-of-living pressures that they are under. That includes people on income support payments and, of course, family payments. We know that it has been tough for many people, and that's why the Albanese Labor government has worked hard to bring inflation down, get wages moving, keep unemployment low and ease the cost of living. This includes action to strengthen our social security safety net, to raise working-age payments and student payments, to give single parents more support and to boost Commonwealth rent assistance to help people manage rental pressures.”