John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I have read those media reports. If anybody has been forced to sign a contract which signs away or purports to sign away that person’s right to join a union then that is illegal and those responsible should be prosecuted. It has long been the position of this side of politics that the right to belong or not to belong to a union should be sacrosanct. It has never really been the policy of the Labor Party that the right not to belong to a union is sacrosanct. I mean, you cannot be a Labor member of parliament without belonging to a union, so do not come into this place and start giving us a lecture about freedom of association.

The 457 visa system has brought forth one of the most spectacular contemporary examples of Labor Party double standards and Labor Party hypocrisy. In here every day in the parliament they are up on their feet saying these 457 visas are an outrage. They are saying that every day, yet behind the scenes, away from the glare of the national parliament, their Labor mates at a state level are falling over themselves to recruit—

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