Bob Katter (Kennedy, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—My comments will be exceptionally brief. I told my staff when I saw this bill that, no, we are not going to vote for it. We are not Santa Claus here to be handing out money, pay and conditions to everyone who wants some extra pay and conditions. Jen Eliot, my chief of staff, said, 'No, you will read the scientific basis for this request,' and she forced me to read the scientific analysis and data put together by the United Firefighters Union. Having read that, there was no way that I could then shy away from backing the bill. It was an unassailable case.

In making that statement, I want to pay a very fine tribute to the firefighters union here. It is very seldom that we in this place get a case put as professionally and as scientifically as that. They fought like tigers to stay out and away from amalgamation, and that decision has served this union well. It is a very good decision today, and we thank the honourable member Mr Bandt for bringing it forward. But most of all I think that it is a tribute to good unionism. Unions seem to get criticised almost universally throughout the Australian media these days and all of us are intimidated and do not come forward and praise a union these days. This action is something that needed to be done and has now been done. My congratulations to both sides of the House and to the initiator, but most of all to the union—a very, very fine performance.

See this speech in context