Jamie Briggs (Mayo, Liberal Party, Chairman of the Scrutiny of Government Waste Committee) Share this | Hansard source

I will indeed continue to talk about the failure of the Fair Work Act and the reason that we are here. The reason we are here is the workers at the bottom end who genuinely need the protection of a union movement that is focused on protecting their rights and obligations under the system, because if people are being ripped off they should have recourse, they should have legal protection and they should have people who are willing to represent them. And there are many good unionists out there who work very hard to ensure that people have their rights pursued in an appropriate way.

In fact, the coalition, when in government, had specific provisions in this area because this area is obviously one which has had, in the past, difficulties. Therefore we believed that, like the building industry, this needed industry-specific legislation. I note the difference in approach by this government, which says you do not need industry-specific legislation for one group of workers when it comes to the building industry but you do when it comes to this industry and you do when it comes to their TWU mates. You need it in two industries, but not in the building industry. I ask you, Mr Deputy Speaker, why is it that Labor members, the proud union officials that they are, have not spoken up about the disgraceful misuse of HSU credit cards? The Health Services Union represents the lowest-paid workers in our society. I ask you that question.

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