Susan Lamb (Longman, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's the first day back in parliament after four weeks in our electorates, and it's only taken a few short hours for the government member here to again start bashing unions and workers—just a couple of hours. Despite the cowardly issues caused by this government's lack of foresight, empathy or action that require urgent attention, this government would instead rather parrot their tired antiworker rhetoric. This government attacks anyone who stands up for workers, wherever and whenever they can. I understand that it's easier than standing up to corporate interests, but I won't accept this as an excuse. I'm a member of the Labor Party, and we fight for workers and we fight for what is fair. What's not fair are the conditions and the continuous attacks on workers, wages and conditions that are taking place in this country—attacks like the vicious cuts to penalty rates, the take-home pay of hundreds of thousands of workers, that this government has championed.

Those opposite act as if they are proud of those senseless cuts, when really they should be hanging their heads in shame. How can this government stand there, representing someone who is struggling to get by as it is, and vote to cut their take-home pay? How can you stand there and do that? How can this government so blatantly favour the interests of big business shareholders over those who struggle to feed their family?

The royal commission into trade unions that took place in 2014 and 2015 has recorded just one conviction. Despite there being over a million unionists in this country, the royal commission found one conviction. This royal commission was just another one of those LNP witch-hunts that was orchestrated to undermine Australian workers. It was another failure; let's be very clear. They spent tens of millions of dollars straight out of the taxpayers' wallet to prove that one bad egg in the union movement is, quite literally, one in a million. And yet, after all of this, the member for Fisher who was just here—he has just left the room, of course—still wants to waste time and money, and that's taxpayers' money. He wants to continue to waste time and taxpayers' money by attacking this unethical behaviour which the royal commission proved is all but non-existent—remember that one, 'all but non-existent'. It's truly a very pathetic attempt to malign Australian workers, and it just shows how weak this government actually are. They are a government who will denigrate vulnerable workers, time and time again, while they refuse to investigate big businesses or banks.

Why does this government continually stand in the way of a royal commission into the banking sector? I know my constituents want it. I know constituents all over this country want a royal commission—they tell me every day. They're tired of being ripped off. But, each and every day, the government are standing in the way of a royal commission into banks. To the member for Fisher, who has just left the room, my question is: why do you and your government refuse to take meaningful action against multinational companies who avoid paying their fair share of tax in this country? It's not fair that companies can operate in Australia but use unscrupulous accounting loopholes to circumvent our laws. It is the Australian people, the Australian workers, who become victims of this behaviour by multinationals.

The member for Fisher, just before he left the chamber, was speaking about the ABCC as a champion that stamps out union corruption. But last month's court hearing really proves the opposite is true. It is this government who are to blame for the blatant disregard of Australian laws. Senator Michaelia Cash and the whole of the Turnbull government have a lot to answer for. They hand-picked Nigel Hadgkiss as commissioner of the ABCC, despite being well aware of his intentional disregard for the law. It's quite amazing, isn't it, their hand-picking of Mr Hadgkiss as commissioner? How can this government claim to be a moral authority, when they have effectively condoned his unlawful behaviour? Does this government see it as okay to break these laws, so long as they disadvantage workers and unions in the process? Labor doesn't condone unlawful behaviour from anybody at all, we don't discriminate with legislation, and we do not attack workers. This government, on the other hand, has a lot to answer for.

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