Pauline Hanson just explained penalty rates better than the Prime Minister

CAN someone “please explain” how One Nation leader Pauline Hanson beat Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at his own game?

CAN someone “please explain” how Pauline Hanson beat the Prime Minister at his own game last week?

The One Nation leader looks like she could teach Malcolm Turnbull a thing or two after she managed to explain the penalty rates decision better than he did.

Mr Turnbull has been reluctant to back the Fair Work Commission’s decision to cut Sunday penalty rates for cafe and other workers, preferring to describe it as an independent ruling that was not made by government.

But the debate has moved on and Mr Turnbull has been called on to justify whether the government should back the decision.

This is where Mr Turnbull has struggled, arguing that it is a complex decision.

“Let’s take an example of a worker who only works on public holidays, right?” Mr Turnbull told Sabra Lane on ABC radio on Thursday.

“Even if you phased it in over 10 years, they would still — or five years, they would still have a reduction although, of course — and again this is why it’s complex — the base rate is going to be increasing.”

Perhaps Mr Turnbull should have looked to the One Nation leader for inspiration instead.

Ms Hanson, who has previously called for penalty rates to be scrapped, managed to put forward a strong defence of the decision during an appearance on ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday.

“If you go into a fish and chip shop, I’d have to pay $34 an hour to employ someone, yet McDonald’s down the road, they can only pay $26 an hour,” Ms Hanson said.

Ms Hanson drew on her experience as a fish and chip shop owner, saying reducing Sunday penalty rates could help to increase employment.

“Those employers, I know myself, if you can cut back a little bit there, give them a helping hand, more likely these small businesses will open on a weekend, possibly give more hours and employ more people,” she said.

“If you do not start doing this, small businesses are shutting.”

Who explained it better? Pauline Hanson? Picture: Richard Wainwright

Or Malcolm Turnbull? Picture: Nigel Hallett

While Ms Hanson’s comments are not perfect they get the message across quickly. Compare them to Mr Turnbull’s longwinded explanation when asked if he agreed with Ms Hanson that the decision would increase employment.

“(The Fair Work Commission) have heard hundreds of witnesses and they have come to the conclusion that reducing Sunday penalty rates, not right down to the level of Saturday penalty rates, but closer to Saturday penalty rates will result in more jobs, more opportunities, more businesses being open, more owners being able to not work on a Sunday and employ other employed staff to do so,” he said at a press conference on Sunday.

“So the point about the decision of the Fair Work Commission, which was very carefully considered is that it will generate more jobs, more employment, and so the benefit, that will be a very significant benefit to the economy. That was their decision.”

It gets even better.

Hanson puts the argument the government should on penalty rates!

— laurie atlas (@laurieatlas) March 4, 2017

Noteworthy that Pauline Hanson has the spine to articulate an argument for penalty cuts better than Coalition #auspol #insiders #libsadrift

— Claire March (@clairemarch) March 4, 2017

When attacking Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and the Labor Party for hypocrisy, the PM said:

“One of the fundamental principles of the Labor Party from its foundation has been an independent umpire to decide wages and conditions. That’s how the conciliation and arbitration system began. All of the industrial commissions and industrial courts. That was absolute Labor Party gospel.

“Well in the last few weeks, Bill Shorten has thrown that out the window. He has abandoned that, he has walked away from the independent umpire. He has walked away from an independent umpire that he established, that he appointed the people on it — led by former official of the ACTU and of course he was pledging until very recently to respect it.

“The founders of the Labor Party would be, they would be appalled to think that the leader of the modern Labor Party has abandoned such a fundamental principle.”

In comparison, Ms Hanson’s attack on the Labor Party cut straight to the point.

After highlighting the lower hourly rates that McDonald’s can pay their employees compared to small businesses, Ms Hanson said: “This is what the unions have negotiated. They are talking about looking after the battlers. It is a big furphy.

“Where is the union jumping up and down about that with the battlers?”

Seven Network’s Mark Riley pointed out on Insiders that Ms Hanson had put forward a “succinct” and “much more muscular defence” to the penalty rates decision than the government had.

He added that Ms Hanson’s comments about McDonald’s pay rates was a “great argument” that he had not heard expressed by anyone else.

It’s bizarre that Ms Hanson, who has been mocked over her muddled speech and blunt “please explain?” statements, could manage to be more concise than a former lawyer and journalist.

But Mr Turnbull’s waffling has been noted before, by news.com.au’s Elizabeth Burke, who documented the frustration reporters had during the federal election last year in identifying clean quotes to get across the PM’s message.

Today it has emerged Ms Hanson has the PM on speed dial, perhaps Mr Turnbull should have called Pauline too.