Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation) Share this | Hansard source

This is a scheme that we have improved. We have polished and improved it, because we always do better for workers than those opposite. But what is interesting is that this is a scheme to protect workers who are at risk of losing their entitlement. It is a scheme of last resort to help bail out workers who risk losing entitlements. So, even though the member for North Sydney says, 'Hang on, don't take credit; that is our idea,' why did you vote against it last night? What happened last night is that they decided to lower it because they have never seen a worker's condition they do not want to cut, and, when they could not get their amendment up, what did they do? They threw their toys out of the cot and said they would vote against the whole lot.

So the 14,000 workers in the last financial year who have benefited from the GEER Scheme should be grateful that there is a Labor government. The 64,000 workers who have benefited from the GEER Scheme since we were elected should be grateful for a Labor government. And I tell you who else should be grateful: all those workers in the future, because if the opposition had their way they would do over—they would further injure—workers who lost their entitlements courtesy of insolvency. Those opposite showed their real form on industrial relations last night: cut, slash and burn.

See this speech in context