Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

To the member who asked the question, I say: I did not say that. The reason the member is probably confused is that day after day the opposition has been pursuing two completely logically inconsistent lines of attack in relation to this Fair Work matter. That is not surprising because when you are the kind of people who always say no and are negative about anything, why would you worry about consistency?

Some days they come into this parliament, and they are in the media too, asserting: 'The government has made contact with Fair Work Australia. This is a conspiracy. We need to know all about this. This is about improper influence.' Some days they say that, but that line of attack came to a shuddering halt today, repudiated in Senate estimates. The General Manager of Fair Work Australia, having properly looked at the matter, stated clearly on the record that there has been no interference. So whenever the opposition says that in the future, people will know that they are trying deliberately to mislead.

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