Natasha Griggs (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to update the House on some of the things that are occurring in my electorate. I feel it particularly important to put the truth on the public record, because my constituents have been bombarded with a union and Labor funded campaign of misinformation. Make no mistake: despite the contents of these mail-outs, robocalls and speeches covering free trade agreements, coastal shipping and the Palmerston Regional Hospital, this is all about politics. This is about the Australian Labor Party using money raised from levies on funds from union members to try to win more seats here in this place. It is about the CFMEU and the MUA targeting marginal seats such as yours, Madam Deputy Speaker Wicks, and mine around the country in an attempt to get more union people in this place. We know that the unions are the puppet masters for the Labor members over there on that side of the chamber.

Recently a flyer has been dropped through the mailboxes of many of my constituents across Darwin and Palmerston. The flyer was authorised by the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union leader, Michael O'Connor. Mr O'Connor and the CFMEU make three claims on this brochure. Each is branded as a real big red fact. Well, I would like to offer, as a donation or a loan to the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, a dictionary, because it is clear from reading this pamphlet that they do not know what the word 'fact' means. None of these claims that they have made are true. None of them are even close to the truth. There will be no boatloads of overseas workers rushing to Australia to take local jobs, there will be no flood of goods coming in without safety checks, and there will be no abolition of labour and environmental laws for Chinese companies in Australia. I add that perhaps in putting together this brochure they could have used a thesaurus and not a dictionary. Perhaps they could have looked up the word 'true'. Instead of using a synonym, they used an antonym.

Recently my Northern Territory colleague the health minister, John Elferink, addressed a public meeting to update the community on the progress towards Palmerston Regional Hospital. During the Q&A part of the meeting, a Labor staffer who has worked for the member for Lingiari and currently works for Senator Peris got to his feet and actually claimed credit for funding the Palmerston Regional Hospital. It was just hilarious, apparently. I was not there, because I was here in Canberra for sittings. I am told that his claim was met with a hearty laugh from the crowd and that there were a few unparliamentary words muttered by the Minister for Health, because he knew the truth: that that funding was achieved because of me; the health minister at the time, Peter Dutton; and the current Prime Minister. The Palmerston Regional Hospital is on track and it will be treating people in Darwin and Palmerston in 2018. Recently, Lend Lease was appointed managing contractor for the project, and they have the equipment and the machinery already on site and are preparing to pour the slab in October.

By way of summary, I would encourage my constituents who receive any pamphlets or calls from the Labor Party or a union to treat them with healthy scepticism. Remember: in the case of unions, they are not out to represent the workers; they are out to claim seats in the House of Representatives for the Labor Party. If you have any concerns about any brochures that pop up in the letter boxes, please do not hesitate to contact me. I will be happy to tell you the truth. I do not have a union pulling my strings, telling me what I need to say here in this place. I represent the views of the people of Darwin and Palmerston. I do not represent the views of the Labor Party or the unions. I think that this needs to be called out for what it is—the union members on that site are being held to ransom and told what to say by the unions across this nation. The unions have declared war on 30 marginal seats. You know what? The people of Darwin and Palmerston are smarter than the unions give them credit for.