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

I say in reply to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition that I have grown accustomed to checking the facts of anything put to me by the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, and in this case I will do the same thing. I would invite the Deputy Leader of the Opposition to extend her concern about those mothers to the mothers who are involved in running small businesses like motels. The opposition might also extend it to any mothers who might have been caught up in the attack that was made on 9 October last year on Martin Donnelly Electrical Services, a local small business electrical outfit in Queanbeyan, when the Leader of the Opposition and her predecessor as spokesman on industrial relations matters conducted a press conference at the site of the new Prime Minister and Cabinet office building, at which they alleged that the workers were being forced onto AWAs which slashed wages. They did not ask any questions. They did not go to the Office of Workplace Services. They did not allow for some kind of honest mistake. The then Leader of the Opposition and the member for Perth asked questions on this matter in question time. In particular, the member for Perth alleged that the AWAs removed a range of allowances for overtime and bonuses and all sorts of other things. On that occasion I said I would examine the matter and on the following day I was able to report to the House that every single allegation made by the member for Perth was completely false—every single allegation, not even an honest mistake. Every single allegation was completely false. I borrow a phrase used by the Treasurer on many occasions. On this issue I say to the Australian Labor Party: thy name is hypocrisy.

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