QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

Ms RISHWORTH (Kingston—Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) (14:08): I'd like to thank the member for Spence for that question and his many, many years of commitment in advocating for transport workers right around this country. This week we saw a historic outcome which has delivered a world-leading minimum standard for platform food delivery drivers enabled by the Albanese Labor government's workplace reforms.

As of yesterday, tens of thousands of food delivery drivers will now have a minimum hourly pay and, for some, that will be a pay boost of up to 25 per cent. This outcome is a result of the Albanese government's world-leading workplace laws, which laid the foundation for gig workers to achieve a guaranteed minimum pay. Our government believes that these workers should not rely on tips to survive, and that's why, under our reforms, the Fair Work Commission has been able to determine a minimum pay and conditions for platform food delivery drivers.

Starting this week, Fair Work's decision means that workers who deliver for services such as Uber Eats and DoorDash now have a minimum earning safety net of $31.30 an hour. These workers will now have critical protections such as accident insurance, dispute resolution processes and representation rights. Yesterday I met with some of these workers here in Parliament House alongside the Transport Workers' Union, who have fought tirelessly for these minimum standards.

I met with Alexi who said she was getting paid as low as $15 an hour to rush on her bike from job to job on busy and unsafe roads just to make ends meet. Alexi said that these minimum standards mean she'll finally have certainty that she can pay the rent. I also met with food delivery driver Utsav, who sometimes works 80 hours a week just to make a living.

He told me, 'There have been many times where I haven't been able to sleep because I worried about not earning a minimum wage, but that all changes now.' These minimum standards are a big step in delivering financial certainty for thousands of workers. It means food delivery workers like Alexi and Utsav will no longer have to trade flexibility for fair pay and safety.

I'm asked about how this differs from other approaches, and, yes, it does. While our government took protecting these workers as a serious matter, the Liberals, Nationals and One Nation voted against these changes. In fact, the Leader of the Opposition said that these laws were 'disastrous'.

It is absolutely clear there's only one party on the side of Australian workers, and that's the Labor Party. (Time expired)