Pressure on Christensen over penalty rates

A PROTEST outside George Christensen's office on penalty rates was a 'highly personal' attack, according to the Dawson MP.

By Troy.kippen

less than 2 min read

June 4, 2018 - 1:01PM

Dawson MP George Christensen is under pressure to keep fighting for penalty rates. Picture: Stuart Quinn

Mackay

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A PROTEST outside George Christensen's office on penalty rates was a 'highly personal' attack, according to the Dawson MP.

Hospitality workers, United Voice union and Labor party members protested outside the office, accusing the MP of back flipping in his fight to keep penalty rates.

Union co-ordinator Glenn Conroy said workers didn't trust Mr Christensen to protect their penalty rates, and claim he is 'back flipping' on the issue.

"We want to tell Mr Christensen it's not too late to make a firm decision and vote against further cuts to penalty rates," Mr Conroy said.

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"I'm sure he appreciates that weekends and public holidays still mean something in Australia - just as thousands of his constituents do.

"We're here to remind Mr Christensen that the Turnbull Government is on notice for refusing to recognise that people working weekends sacrifice family lives, social lives and their well-being."

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However, Mr Christensen said all that the protest in the car park outside his office had achieved was to have an impact on businesses.

"The car park in front of my office is not my car park. It's for other businesses in the complex and their customers, and Labor and the unions blocked customer access for more than an hour," Mr Christensen said.

"The landlord had to put in a call to police to ask that a truck be removed.

"If the Labor party and the unions want to conduct a protest they should do it in a public area, not in a private car park."

Mr Christensen has previously threatened his own government that he would cross the floor on the issue of reducing penalty rates.

He also threatened to 'go rogue' if penalty rates were not restored.

Penalty rates will be cut by 10 per cent from July 1.

Originally published as Pressure on Christensen over penalty rates