Labor vows to protect penalty rates and seeks to reignite fight over working from home

Summary

The Australian election campaign saw Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledge to retain penalty rates if his party wins, while calling on the Fair Work Commission to reconsider awards affecting workers. Meanwhile, Peter Dutton criticized Labor's plan, claiming it would undermine workers' rights and suggest political interference in negotiations. Both parties highlighted their strategies around working from home policies and tax incentives for businesses, with Albanese emphasizing worker protections and Dutton criticizing potential financial impacts.

Additional Summaries

The prime minister has pledged to enshrine penalty rates in law if his government is re-elected and sought to reinvigorate a clash with the Coalition over working from home. In the morning Peter Dutton spruiked a plan for tax breaks for small business startups, claiming there had been a record number of insolvencies under Labor. The Australian Retailers Association and others have asked the commission to vary the award, proposing some workers be given a 25% pay rise in return for giving up their penalty rates, overtime and other allowances. Albanese said penalty rates had helped get him through university while working at Pancakes on the Rocks. The employment minister, Murray Watt, said penalty rates were “an essential feature of minimum terms and conditions in modern awards” and that Labor’s policy would legislate to ensure they cannot be reduced.