Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Hansard source

I will. The reason they wrote that letter to the inquiry was to ask the inquiry not to release the Fair Work Australia inquiry report. So even on 20 April, paid for by the New South Wales Labor Party, they were trying to cover up the Fair Work Australia inquiry report on behalf of their political masters in the Labor Party. That is what the Prime Minister needs to explain to the House. She needs to explain what her office knew about this and why it is that in the same week that she is claiming to take credit for the suspension of the member of Dobell the New South Wales Labor Party is paying lawyers fees to write letters to try and cover up the Fair Work Australia inquiry.

We also know that in 2011 the New South Wales Labor Party was making loans to the member for Dobell of undisclosed sums in order to keep him from going into bankruptcy. I yet again agree with the former Leader of the Opposition Mark Latham when he wrote about this scandal involving the member for Dobell:

I cannot imagine anything more gut-wrenching for the party faithful, the salt-of-the earth types who grew up with the legends of working class decency under Ben Chifley and John Curtin.

I find it hard to believe that the member for Grayndler can get up again and defend the member for Dobell. Perhaps the so-called fabled light on the hill of Ben Chifley—the Leader of the Opposition referred to it recently—has turned into the red light on the hill, to which all the union leaders are running with their credit cards!

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