Penalty rates gave work more meaning

Good afternoon Mister Turnbull,

I’ll keep this short – over the gruelling months in 2016 of silence from my social work job applications, I was thankful for my casual employment in retail. Though the hours were minimal and shifts were cut and shared amongst many others who needed hours, I was thankful for penalty rates.

Especially during those long Christmas trading hours. Penalty rates gave work more meaning when everyone else was enjoying their weekends or weeknights relaxing.

I managed to continue to pay for my financed car and all the maintenance that came with it, without missing a single payment.

I managed to buy my family Christmas presents and was able to give a monetary gift to my best friend, who got married in October as I shared the day as her bridesmaid.

It got me over the line.