Editorial: The penalties of ‘playing politics’

EDITORIAL: Labor leader Bill Shorten has enjoyed a buoyant year in national opinion polls since his impressive 2016 election campaign performance, which fell just one seat short of winning government.

Labor leader Bill Shorten has enjoyed a buoyant year in national opinion polls since his impressive 2016 election campaign performance, which fell just one seat short of winning government.

That was an epic turnaround for Shorten, who only months prior to the election had seemed likely to lose seats to a then-popular Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Unfortunately for Shorten, however, his election campaign is not the only turnaround with which he is associated.

Much of Shorten’s success during the past 12 months can be attributed to his stance on reduced Sunday penalty rate reductions. Given any opportunity, Shorten aggressively condemns the penalty cuts and vows to maintain existing rates if Labor achieves power.

Sensible arguments for the validity of penalty rate reductions, such as the need to find affordable weekend work for young Australians and the ludicrous situation of businesses being unable to open because they can’t afford excessive weekend wages, make little impact upon the Labor leader. He’s against the cuts, and he’ll remain against the cuts.

That is, of course, unless unions are aiming to achieve penalty rate wage reductions.

Citing union agreements that have reduced weekend penalty rates for workers at some of Australia’s largest companies, Employment Minister Michaelia Cash yesterday attacked Shorten for “playing politics’ over his promise to restore Sunday penalty rates.

“Do you mean for everyone you screwed in the deals you and other unions have done?” Ms Cash said. “The more we delve into it, the more unions have destroyed Sunday penalty rates,” she told The Daily Telegraph. “The Labor Party is happy for penalty rates to be reduced so long as it is their union masters who are negotiating the deals.”

The Employment Minister makes a solid case, pointing out that when Labor leader Shorten was national secretary at the Australian Workers’ Union, the organisation struck a deal with Target in Queensland that paid workers $47.91 a week less off — and $2491 a year — than the comparable Retail Industry Award. Shorten is presently on leave, but his office yesterday offered the excuse that there is no record of him personally sighting the Target deal. On his return the Labor leader might explain why penalty rate reductions achieved by unions are acceptable while those achieved by government are not.

FM supremos with the least

Competition usually brings out the best in people. Facing an equal rival, or an ambitious new contestant, compels established players to lift their games. Well, that’s how things work in most areas. FM radio may be a little different.

With battle joined for FM radio ratings supremacy, stations are bringing out their big guns – and it isn’t pretty. The Kyle and Jackie O Show has set a difficult standard to match, but they’re giving it their very best shot. Or, their worst. Exactly how this will end is hard to say, but we can probably rule out Shakespeare recital phone-ins or Em Rusciano asking for favourite Jacques Tati comedies.

Beware new age NSW

So Queensland thinks Suncorp Stadium will provide a matchwinning home ground advantage for the third and deciding State of Origin battle of 2017.

Good luck with that, because NSW have enlisted the aid of almighty Chinese, Judaic and Indian healing traditions to totally overwhelm any negative vibes coming our way from the Queensland camp.

These healing forces are awesomely strong, which is why NSW captain Boyd Cordner turned to them in a bid to overcome a calf injury ahead of Origin III next week.

“He is like an energy healer,” Cordner told The Daily Telegraph of Kevin Niv Farrow, the mind and body energy whisperer whose spooky powers were deployed on and around the crucial Cordner leg region.

“I don’t know, it’s spiritual,” Cordner continued. “It’s hard to explain. Sometimes they touch points (in your leg) but sometimes they will put their hand above. It was weird and I don’t normally do that but ... it couldn’t hurt so why not? I bought into it and tried to get as much out of it as I can.”

Be afraid, Queensland. The spiritual realm is on our side.