Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

Mr Cheng Hong appeared before the inquiry that was set up by John Della Bosca into Tristar on a reference to the Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales. Mr Cheng Hong tabled what I understand to be some notes from another person—they might have been from him as well; it is very difficult to tell according to the transcript—of a conversation that he claimed to have had with me. I will make this point: I never asked Tristar to break the law. I would not ask them to break the law. I asked Tristar, the management of Tristar and Mr Cheng Hong, to pay the workers their full entitlements. I make no apology for that whatsoever. The workers who are left at Tristar have been treated terribly by the management of that company.

The Labor Party voted against our attempts to protect the workers of Tristar. Shame on the Labor Party for that. They voted against it, and then they went down to Marrickville and claimed to the workers that they were the workers’ best friend. Yet in this place previously the Labor Party voted against the 12-month protection for the redundancy entitlements of the workers of Tristar. That is why the Deputy Leader of the Opposition did not ask the question. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition got a backbencher to ask the question because she knows that they have been batting for the management of Tristar and they have been batting against the interests of the workers. Those workers, in the view of the government, have no work to do.

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