Press conference, Brisbane

JUSTIN POWER, QUEENSLAND BRANCH SECRETARY OF THE SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION: Look, our message is very simple. We're coming up to the busy Christmas period of the year. It's a very busy period, sometimes people's tempers can get a little bit frayed. We're just asking people to remember to treat retail employees with respect.
 
We did a most recent survey - which is actually just about to conclude - of 1600 of our members, and the results of that, very sadly, show that customer aggression and abuse hasn't significantly improved. Of the 1600 members that we surveyed, 87 percent said that they'd experienced verbal or physical abuse in the last 12 months. 73 percent said that they had experienced abuse that increases over the Christmas and Easter period, so it particularly gets worse at this time of the year. And then 90 per cent said that that abuse negatively impacts upon their mental health, especially at these times of the year.
 
So, look, Christmas is a great time of the year for everybody to enjoy and spend time with their family. We want customers to be able to enjoy that time. We want them to give our members and all retail workers the opportunity to enjoy that time as well. And please remember, retail staff, our members, they don't get to choose how many legs of ham get ordered. They don't get to decide how many registers are opened. They don't get to decide trading hours or any of those sorts of things. So, we just want to send the message that please, treat retail employees with respect. They will serve you with respect, and we ask that you treat them with respect this Christmas and allow them to enjoy their Christmas as well, because nobody deserves a serve.
 
JOURNALIST: Is it more prevalent at this time of year - and Easter and what have you -because it's busier, or is it people more stressed or something? Is it just a numbers game, or…?
 
JUSTIN POWER: I suspect it's as simple as everybody has a lot on, plans don't always turn out the way that we thought that they would, and so people just find it a generally stressful, hectic time of the year. Tempers run short and people react poorly, whereas they would have not normally have done so.
 
JOURNALIST: What kind of things happen in the extreme cases?
 
JUSTIN POWER: Look, we have a couple of retail members here that will have an opportunity to speak in a minute. But we've had anything from verbal abuse is fairly common, through to people being spat on, and, of course, in the worst-case scenario, we've had our members assaulted. In fact, we've had just some changes to some recent legislation to escalate the penalties for assaulting any employees in their workplace, and from our perspective, especially retail members, because of the levels of those assaults. 
 
MURRAY WATT, MINISTER FOR EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS: Well thanks very much, Justin. And thanks to all the retail workers who've gathered with us here at Westfield Carindale to highlight the need to treat retail workers with respect in this busy Christmas season. And can I also welcome, joining us today, three of Labor's candidates standing at the next federal election; Renee Coffey, our candidate for Griffith, Rebecca Hack, our candidate for Ryan, and Madonna Jarrett, our candidate for Brisbane - all big supporters of the retail workers, and indeed, all workers in the Australian economy.
 
As Justin said, the reason we're here today is to call on the public to treat retail workers with respect this Christmas season. We know it's a stressful time, we know people feel like they're running out of time to get their Christmas shopping done and buy that incredible present for Mum or Dad, but please make sure that as you are working with retail workers, that you do maintain respect, because as the t-shirts behind me say, no one deserves a serve. No retail worker, who is trying to go out of their way to help people this Christmas, deserves to be verbally abused, or physically attacked in the worst case, for simply trying to do their job.
 
Now, as Justin said, we've got Cass and Zane, two retail workers who have gone through terrible experiences with customers in past Christmas seasons, and they will be able to share with you their stories about why it is important to treat retail workers with respect. They're human beings like the rest of us. They're doing the very best they can, in many cases working long hours at the moment to help us. So, let's respect them this Christmas.
 
As a government, we are doing everything we can to protect and respect retail workers, including through our changes through workplace laws to strengthen the position and the rights of casual workers. Now, we know that in the retail sector there's a lot of people who work as casual employees. As a government, what we've done is improve the rights of casual workers to convert to permanent employment, if that's what they want to do, and also to make sure that people aren't being falsely classified as casual workers simply as a way to deny them the job security and other benefits of permanent employment. And I think it's worth highlighting as we get ready for the next federal election that those kind of rights are at risk if Peter Dutton and the Coalition win the next election. They are already on the record as saying that if they win the next election, they will unwind the changes we’ve made to protect casual workers. And that would put a lot of the work of these people in jeopardy, should Peter Dutton win the next federal election.
 
I might just touch on one other national issue before, if you'd like to speak to Cass and Zane about their experiences, or any other questions. Of course, the big story nationally over the last few days has been Peter Dutton's plan to install and build nuclear reactors across Australia. And as every day goes by, we see another wheel come off this policy and the Coalition tie themselves in knots trying to explain what this policy involves.
 
Over the last couple of days in particular, we've seen four different members of the Coalition give four different explanations or claims about what their nuclear plan will mean for household power bills. We've seen Peter Dutton make claims that it will cut power bills for every household by up to 44 percent. We've seen Ted O'Brien, who is energy spokesperson, say they don't know and they don't have any modelling about what the impact on household will be - household bills will be. We've seen Bridget McKenzie come out today and say that the 44 percent figure is about how much it costs to reduce electricity generally. And we saw Angus Taylor, the Shadow Treasurer, on 7.30 last night, saying god knows what, no one could understand what he was having to say about electricity prices.
 
I think all Australians, at time when people are dealing with cost-of-living pressures, want to know very clearly from Peter Dutton what is his nuclear plan going to mean for their household power bills? Because what we know from the independent experts is they say, with their modelling, that it's likely to drive up household bills by up to $1,200 every single year. So, we've got independent experts out there saying the cost will be up to $1,200 every year more for a household bill, and we've got four different members of the Coalition saying four different things about what it means for households.
 
In the last couple of days, we've also seen some astonishing comments from Queensland's Deputy Premier, from the LNP, Jarrod Bleijie, making it very clear that their government will not support nuclear energy being built here in Queensland. He said, crystal clear, they don't support nuclear power in Queensland. So again, Peter Dutton has got to explain to people, what does this mean for his policy? Can it still go ahead if the Queensland Government are going to block it? Now we know Peter Dutton has been in hiding for the last couple of days, refusing to do press conferences, as he's wont to do. There's strong rumours around that tomorrow he’ll be announcing a reshuffle of his front bench. When he comes to that press conference tomorrow, he needs to explain to Queenslanders in particular how he's going to override the Queensland Government and build nuclear reactors here, and he's got to tell every Australian household exactly what it means for their power bills if he gets the chance to build these nuclear reactors.
 
Happy to take other questions now, or if you'd like to talk to the retail workers first.
 
JOURNALIST: Just on nuclear while you're on that topic, what do you have against the technology in principle? Like, you know, it takes a long time to build, it costs a lot of money. you know, the finish line is 2050, not next year. Like, you know, even if they don't come online until, say, 2040, why is the technology that has zero emissions an issue?
 
MURRAY WATT: Well, I think you've actually answered your own question; because it takes too long, it costs too much, and it jacks up power bills. That's why we object and reject nuclear power. Right now, as I travel around Australia, whether I'm talking to retail workers here in Brisbane, or when I'm travelling interstate, I don't meet anyone who tells me that they want to pay more for their power. People want to pay less for their power and that's what renewables, backed up by gas and batteries, is already starting to do. The only thing we can guarantee from a nuclear energy plan with Peter Dutton is that people's power bills will go up by up to $1,200 per year. So that's our objection to it, because we don't want people to pay more for their power, we want them to pay less.
 
JOURNALIST: Yesterday’s MYEFO showed that the Government is spending taxpayer money in the same way it does through a crisis period such as the GFC. Is that sustainable?
 
MURRAY WATT: Well, what we've done with the MYEFO statement released by Jim Chalmers and Katy Gallagher yesterday, is show that we are doing everything we can to responsibly manage Australia's federal Budget. Remember that when we came to power, the budget was absolutely swimming in debt, with deficits increasing, inflation rising, and employment in real jeopardy. In the time that we've been in power, we've lifted employment. We've driven unemployment down. We've more than halved inflation from where it was when we came to office. We have repaid Liberal debt and deficit. And we've recorded two budget surpluses. Now, much of the spending that is contained in MYEFO is for things that I think Australians will regard as absolutely essential - funding more GP bulk-billing, funding early childhood education for our kids, funding veterans' entitlements in a way that the Coalition never did. So, I challenge Peter Dutton and Angus Taylor to tell us, what are you going to cut from the federal Budget? Is it going to be pensions? Is it going to be veterans' entitlements? Is it going to be bulk-billing? Is it going to be the NDIS? It's all very well to walk around like Peter Dutton is and complain about spending, they've got to tell people what are they going to cut if they're so serious about spending.
 
JOURNALIST: Moving forward, how will Labor [indistinct] and pay it down?
 
MURRAY WATT: Well, by continuing the strong and responsible economic management that we've put in place. We absolutely recognise that there are essential social services that Australians depend upon: things like Medicare, the NDIS, aged care. We will continue to fund them to be sustainable and strong. But, of course, what we're also doing is putting in place an employment environment that has seen more than 1 million – sorry, a bit noisy doing a press conference at a shopping centre! What we've also done is put in place the economic conditions that have allowed for that 1 million new jobs to be created since we came to power. That is the most new jobs that has ever been created in a single parliamentary term in Australia's history, and that means that more people are paying taxes, which is helping to pay for those important social services.
 
JOURNALIST: I just had another one, sorry, from Canberra. Two men involved in the Bali bombings have been released from Guantanamo Bay to Malaysia. Is that appropriate?
 
MURRAY WATT: Well, I'm not going to comment on the decisions of other governments around the release of that. I think it is important that anyone involved in the Bali bombing, an absolutely disgraceful terrorist attack that took far too many Australian lives, it's very important for anyone who was involved in that shows true remorse. We recognise that that decision has been made and we would certainly expect the conditions of that release to be upheld.
 
JOURNALIST: What do you say to the criticism from the Opposition that it's taken the Labor Government too long to reopen the Kyiv embassy, diplomatically unwise, opportunities have been missed by how long it's taken to get started?
 
MURRAY WATT: It's very easy for the Opposition to be a sideline critic. That's pretty much what they specialise in. As the Australian Government, we take the safety of Australian citizens very seriously, whether they're tourists travelling overseas or whether they're Australians working to assist people in our embassies in overseas countries. It's only of late that our security advice has convinced us that it is safe to send Australians back to the embassy in Ukraine. We didn't want to act before that security advice was solid. Now that it is, we will be able to reopen the embassy in Ukraine, and I think that's a good thing.
 
Can we get Cass and Zane up to talk to you? Who’d like to go first?
 
CASSIE BLYTHE: You go first, Zane.
 
MURRAY WATT: Zane? Just look at Harry when you're talking and if you spell your first and surname.
 
ZANE ROBERG, RETAIL WORKER: Name is Zane Roberg. Z-A-N-E R-O-B-E-R-G.
 
JOURNALIST: Very good. So, tell us your experience, Zane.
 
ZANE ROBERG: First, I just want to echo the message of everyone else, that no one deserves a serve, and just to show a little kindness over this period. On a weekly basis, I get insulted and abused, I've been spat on, and last year for Christmas I had nursed a broken rib because I was assaulted at work by a gentleman who decided to kick me in the chest. Yeah, so I just want to echo the sentiments of everyone else.
 
JOURNALIST: Can I ask what work you do?
 
ZANE ROBERG: I work for one of the large supermarket chains. 
 
JOURNALIST: And how common is it to, you know, to encounter aggressive customers?
 
ZANE ROBERG: I’d say weekly, but it would more than likely be daily. On a daily basis I get abused for things that are beyond my control and then just insulted for just personal reasons. Yeah.
 
JOURNALIST: What does your workplace do to, you know, to assist or help with these matters? I know they're increasing security in the big supermarket chains. Are they taking any action to ensure your safety?
 
ZANE ROBERG: We had no security before I had bones broken. Since then, we have had security at the front door. It's more just a visual, I guess, deterrent. They don't really have any powers to actually withhold people, restrain people or actually physically remove them from the store. So, I guess it's something, but it's not enough. 
 
JOURNALIST: Thank you, Zane. Sorry to hear about that. Hopefully this helps. 
 
ZANE ROBERG: Thank you. Thank you.
 
CASSIE BLYTHE, RETAIL WORKER: Hi, I’m Cassie Blythe. C-A-S-S-I-E, Blythe – B-L-Y-T-H-E. I've been a retail assistant for 35 years and during that time workplace violence has been a problem. Probably more from a vocal. But I've noticed probably in the last 10 years it's increased to ridiculous levels of violence, spitting, I've had stock thrown at me. They get personal and insult you personally. And it's not our fault that something is just not in stock. It's not our fault that the price has increased. It's not our fault that there's not enough registers open. It's beyond our control, but yet they feel that it's their right to insult us, abuse us, and assault us. 
 
JOURNALIST: Do those stats ring true that it's more prevalent around Christmas?
 
CASSIE BLYTHE: Absolutely, absolutely. And the closer to Christmas you get, the worse it is because everyone starts to get frantic. Oh, you know, ‘this Barbie doll’s not in stock’, ‘this piece of Lego’s not in stock’, ‘oh, that price was cheaper last week’. That's not our fault, and abusing us and assaulting us isn't going to change that. It might make them feel better, but it makes us feel worse.
 
JOURNALIST: What do you think will change it?
 
CASSIE BLYTHE: I think people need to take a step back and be kind. I mean, it's not just retail that this is happening in, in the back of an ambulance. Aggression is not required in this industry. We're just becoming very aggressive as a society, and it needs to stop. We need to be nicer to each other.
 
SPEAKER: I've just got one on the phone.
 
AMANDA COPP: Hi, Minister, it's Amanda Copp from Nine down in Canberra.
 
MURRAY WATT: Hey, Amanda.
 
JOURNALIST: Thanks for taking my question. Look, this holiday period there are thousands of workers who are under 18 working as Christmas casuals. They do the same work as other older workers but many of them won't get paid superannuation. Given that the Labor national platform says that you want to ensure super is paid on every dollar earned, is the Government looking at changing that any time soon?
 
MURRAY WATT: Thanks for the question, Amanda. Look, our focus as a government so far has been about lifting wages, and that applies, whether it be for younger workers or older workers as well. And as a result of the changes that we've made to Australia's workplace laws, we have seen the average worker in Australia have a pay rise of over $150 per week since we came to office. So, we will continue to give consideration to all of those sorts of issues, and we'll discuss those issues with unions in particular who have got an interest in them. But as I say, our primary focus has been about getting wages lifted again and I'm very pleased to see that starting to happen.
 
JOURNALIST: And given that we've got the SDA there –
 
MURRAY WATT: Sure.
 
JOURNALIST: -do you mind if I just get a comment on that from Justin, if he's happy to?
 
JUSTIN POWER: Oh, yes.
 
JOURNALIST: Yeah, so just with the number of people over the holiday period who are under 18 but working as kind of Christmas casuals or doing some work to earn some extra cash, a lot of them won't be earning superannuation on those dollars that they earn. Do you think that that is a fair situation at the moment?
 
JUSTIN POWER: Simple answer is no, it's not a fair situation. For those of you that aren't aware, if people under 18 years of age are not doing a certain number of hours each week, they don't attract any superannuation. It's not fair and it's not fair because we are moving towards a future where people are going to become increasingly reliant on their superannuation for their retirement. And it's the dollars that you earn in your first ten years of employment that are actually – because of compounding interest – going to be worth the most at retirement. So, people 15, 16, 17-years of age, they won't yet understand how important that superannuation is and will be. But any hour worked, any dollar earnt, should always attract superannuation, and the earlier the better. And that doesn't just help them, it helps the Australian economy. Because when those 15, 16, 17-year-olds earn super now and it compounds and it puts them in a better position in retirement, that's less that they need to rely on government assistance to support them.