UPPER House MP Greg Hall is hopeful a Parliamentary inquiry will help settle the long-waged debate over penalty rates. The hot button issue continues to split stakeholders, while the Fair Work Commission pushes on with an extensive review of the award system across a number of sectors, including hospitality. Industry bodies have this month renewed calls for weekend and public holiday penalty rates to be slashed, claiming paying staff more than double minimum hourly rates to work the shifts was crippling small businesses and hampering tourism. Mr Hall said yesterday the debate had dragged on long enough. In 2012, the Western Tiers MLC spearheaded a motion calling on the federal government to review legislation setting out penalty rates. His call garnered strong support in the house of review, but failed to gain traction at a federal level. Mr Hall said too many business operators had closed their doors or downsized on Sundays and public holidays in the interim, and it was time to turn the tide. Mr Hall yesterday confirmed he was "strongly considering" launching an inquiry into the issue. Treasurer Peter Gutwein would not be drawn on Mr Hall's proposal, saying penalty rates were a matter for his federal counterparts. But Mr Hall said an inquiry would allow all those involved in debate to lay their cards on the table. "It's time to sit down and figure out a way of ensuring the state government, unions and industry groups can reach a consensus on the matter," he said. "Then we might present a united front to the federal government and finally move forward." Two key solutions have emerged in the penalty rate debate in recent weeks: either shifting casual workers to permanent, part time contracts or increasing regular weekday pay and scaling back weekend and public holiday loadings. "Anything's possible but I'm not going to nail my colours to the mast until I hear from all stakeholders," Mr Hall said. Mr Hall said he was confident his Legislative Council colleagues would back his inquiry push.
UPPER House MP Greg Hall is hopeful a Parliamentary inquiry will help settle the long-waged debate over penalty rates.
The hot button issue continues to split stakeholders, while the Fair Work Commission pushes on with an extensive review of the award system across a number of sectors, including hospitality.
Industry bodies have this month renewed calls for weekend and public holiday penalty rates to be slashed, claiming paying staff more than double minimum hourly rates to work the shifts was crippling small businesses and hampering tourism.
Mr Hall said yesterday the debate had dragged on long enough.
In 2012, the Western Tiers MLC spearheaded a motion calling on the federal government to review legislation setting out penalty rates.
His call garnered strong support in the house of review, but failed to gain traction at a federal level.
Mr Hall said too many business operators had closed their doors or downsized on Sundays and public holidays in the interim, and it was time to turn the tide.
Mr Hall yesterday confirmed he was "strongly considering" launching an inquiry into the issue.
Treasurer Peter Gutwein would not be drawn on Mr Hall's proposal, saying penalty rates were a matter for his federal counterparts.
But Mr Hall said an inquiry would allow all those involved in debate to lay their cards on the table.
"It's time to sit down and figure out a way of ensuring the state government, unions and industry groups can reach a consensus on the matter," he said.
"Then we might present a united front to the federal government and finally move forward."
Two key solutions have emerged in the penalty rate debate in recent weeks: either shifting casual workers to permanent, part time contracts or increasing regular weekday pay and scaling back weekend and public holiday loadings.
"Anything's possible but I'm not going to nail my colours to the mast until I hear from all stakeholders," Mr Hall said.
Mr Hall said he was confident his Legislative Council colleagues would back his inquiry push.
