Warren Snowdon (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for External Territories) Share this | Hansard source

We know what this is about. It is about attacking the rights of Australian workers and their organisations. The ABCC's proposed powers are extreme, unnecessary, undemocratic, and compromise civil liberties. I have been in this place a fair length of time and I would have to say that, when we see the way the government is now treating Australian workers, we need to be very concerned. We have seen what they have done about BHP. We know what they have done in Gove—absolutely nothing. Let me be very clear: these people do not care about the interests of Australian working people, and this is an example of them attacking the right of Australian working people to be properly represented by trade unions.

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