Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Australian shipping is at a crossroads. I struggle to find a time when Australian jobs are more at risk than what they are under this government.

Reminiscent of Reith and his balaclava-wearing thugs, the cowardly Turnbull government granted its blessing for security guards to mount a secret midnight raid to forcibly remove Australian workers on the MV Portland. This is the most disgusting act of industrial thuggery since Howard backed Patricks. As the Leader of the Opposition said:

… this is Work Choices on water.

What is very concerning is the fact that, without batting an eyelid, this government is happy to see Australian workers ripped out of their workplaces and replaced by cheaper foreign workers. Their ideological goal is to bring down wages and conditions, stand back and blame the market. It is not fair, it is not on and it is not Australian.

I wear the red ensign as a symbol of support for Australian maritime workers. I want to remind the PM every time he comes into this chamber, sits there and looks across the chamber that he has sold out Australian workers and their families. We will not stand by and watch Australian jobs sail offshore. We will stand with the Australian public and work together to ensure our maritime industry is kept safe and that Australian workers wanting to enter the maritime industry have a strong future ahead of them.

The question is: has the PM got the backbone to support Australian workers and Australian jobs? Sadly, the evidence is very clear that he has not. It is time for this bloke, who knifed the former Prime Minister, to get in here, stand up and look after Australians instead of looking after himself.

See this speech in context