Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates) Bill 2025

Senator KOVACIC (New South Wales) (18:49): With respect, Minister, my question didn't relate to cutting people's wages. It related to the productivity roundtable, and I note that it has been referenced as a talkfest by many. I would suggest that the answers to the questions here this evening suggest that perhaps it was more of a talkfest than a productivity roundtable, because a key piece of legislation that this government took to the election as an election commitment—which you articulated earlier was very important to deliver—was not raised or assessed with the Productivity Commission.

There was no financial or economic modelling done in relation to it and it wasn't discussed at the roundtable. And the people that you did invite to the roundtable and who you note may or may not agree with you but could provide a contest of ideas and could scrutinise what's been put forward—just hasn't happened. Why do you not want proper and appropriate scrutiny of this legislation?