Wilson Tuckey (O'Connor, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

He is Corio? Well, I do not think he is sitting in the right seat. I may be wrong about that. I had to look at the map as he is otherwise so undetectable in this place. I apologise for that if he is Corio. I used to like the fellow he rolled in the preselection, but there you go. The whole fact of life is that in his speech he mentioned inaccuracies like the fact that the Work Choices regime cut wages when in fact it increased real wages—that is, the purchasing power of a worker—by 22 per cent as compared to the zero per cent that was delivered by him and his union colleagues throughout the Hawke years and the accord. Of course, there are other matters to which I wish to attend.

It may be of no surprise to you that, back in 1981, I made my maiden speech and it was about industrial relations. Whereas many members come to this place to thank the people who supported them—they thank Granny and Mum and everyone else—I cut to the chase and my limited audience happened to include Bob Hawke. I had a little bit of a problem because I made ACTU an acronym and he was a bit confused every time I said the word ‘ACTU’. But we will not worry about that. I reread the speech today because I was looking for a quote that I think epitomises my view about this legislation.

See this speech in context