Fair Work Amendment (Repeal of 4 Yearly Reviews and Other Measures) Bill 2017

The majority voted in favour of amendments moved by Labor Senator Doug Cameron.

There was one rebel in this division with One Nation Senator Fraser Anning (Qld) crossing the floor to vote against the rest of his party.

What are the amendments?

Senator Cameron explained that:

These amendments effectively mirror the private member's bill introduced into the House by Mr George Christensen. The effect is to restore penalty rates to the level they were at before the cuts commenced on 1 July. The commencement date of these amendments has the effect of restoring penalty rates from the date this bill comes into operation. This means there will be no back-pay liability for businesses who, in reducing the penalty rates they have been paying since 1 July, have been following the law. We cannot restore the wages that have been lost to workers between 1 July and now because of this government's refusal to support my penalty rates bill, which did pass this place in time to stop the cuts. These amendments give this parliament the chance to stop the cuts now and going forward.