A$25-an-hour waiters threaten growth in Australia, but reform carries political risks

Canberra

AWARD-WINNING chef Ben Willis would have no trouble filling his Canberra restaurant on Sundays. It's been voted the best in the Australian capital three years running.

But faced with a A$25.94 (S$26.94)-an-hour wage bill even for trainee waiters under Australia's complex system of pay rates, he says it makes no financial sense to open.