Louise Markus (Greenway, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. What are the implications of the Workplace Relations Act for the effective functioning of registered organisations?

Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Greenway for her question and note the great representation that she is providing to people in Greenway, in the western suburbs of Sydney. She asked me about registered organisations, and of course some of the most significant registered organisations in Australia are trade unions. Last week it was revealed by the Australian Electoral Commission that the unions in Australia have donated to the Australian Labor Party since 1996 some $50 million. I was interested in that in light of some remarks that have been made about the activities of these registered organisations, particularly in relation to the Australian Labor Party, to which they have donated some $50 million. Indeed, there was a program on radio on the weekend Background Briefing, whose transcript I commend all honourable members to read because there are a number of quite significant comments made during the course of that program.

First of all, we had a former minister from the Wran government of New South Wales, Mr Rodney Cavalier. When commenting on the Australian Labor Party, he said:

The central problem with the Labor Party is that it is controlled lock, stock and barrel by trade unions. 100 percent of management power is in the hands of union leaders and their clients.

That is what he says they bought for their $50 million. There were other comments. The opposition are making a lot of noise because they do not want to hear this. We had a New South Wales Labor official, Assistant Secretary Mr Luke Foley, who himself had been a trade union boss in New South Wales. Amongst other things, he said:

At the moment, it is really only union secretaries who wield power through the carrying of block voters at Labor Party conferences.

He is basically saying that the ordinary members no longer have a say and no longer have a vote. Then we had Mr Peter Botsman, who said:

What I know is that the Australian Labor Party is not democratic.

Kim Beazley (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. This has been going on at tedious length. Why don’t you ask the minister to make a ministerial statement that we will all happily debate.

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is no point of order. The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat. The minister is in order.

Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will repeat what Mr Botsman was saying:

What I know is that the Australian Labor Party is not democratic, absolutely tyrannical in the way in which it runs its administrative apparatus, and as a result the Labor Party is out of touch, issues don’t matter, ideas don’t matter, the fate and future of the country don’t matter.

He summed up the modern Australian Labor Party under the leadership of the member for Brand—the man who in the same interview conceded six months ago that they would lose the next election. What this shows is no membership—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister will resume his seat. The minister has the right to be heard. I call the minister.

Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This transcript shows, from voices of the Labor Party in Australia, that it has no membership, no ideas, no policies and no leadership.