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

The Deputy Leader of the Opposition interjects. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition was asked by David Spears on Sky News yesterday about the application of the unfair dismissal laws to Cassie Whitehill in Tasmania, and she did not understand her own laws. What a surprise! They want to abolish our laws, but they do not even understand their own. Of course, whether the laws are in or the laws are out, they do not apply to the Labor Party and they do not apply to the unions. That is why, when we heard about the case of Cassie Whitehill, who was sacked the day before Christmas by the President of the Australian Services Union in Tasmania—who also happens to be the President of the Labor Party in Tasmania—the Leader of the Opposition and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition did not lift a finger. But we hear today that Kevin Harkins has been sacked.

See this speech in context