Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Menzies for his question. I know he has a very deep interest in ensuring that union leaders abide by the law and work on behalf of their workers rather than themselves.

Union leaders who receive thousands in personal benefits from employers with whom they are negotiating are clearly placing themselves in a position of conflict of interest. That is why the Heydon royal commission recommended that we should outlaw such benefits and impose a criminal sanction on those who solicit, offer, provide or receive them. So the government do intend to legislate this year in that area, and we hope that the opposition will see their way clear to supporting reform in the area of ensuring that union bosses are not in a conflict of interest position because of the thousands of dollars, potentially tens of thousands of dollars, of benefits that they receive from employers.

Let me give you an example of one of the things we would like to outlaw, Mr Speaker. Imagine if a union leader travelled with a billionaire who owned a jet, with their family, to Easter Island, Argentina and Cuba—

Mr Perrett interjecting—

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