Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Prior to today, the Prime Minister has said at least nine times that if the ABCC bill was rejected by the Senate he would call a double dissolution election on 2 July. But four times today the Prime Minister refused to confirm the exact date of the election. Why is it that, after weeks of telling the Australian people the exact date of the election, now that it is time for a decision the Prime Minister is completely paralysed?

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition's pathetic attempt today to misrepresent what I have said just underlines his lack of any character or commitment to jobs in Australia. Last night the Senate abolished the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal. What that did was restore tens of thousands of Australians to their employment. It put owner-drivers back on the road. It put people back into their jobs.

The Labor Party talk about jobs, but every policy of theirs is calculated to destroy jobs. And it is not just prospective. We saw thousands of owner-drivers out of work. We saw grown men weeping. We saw them with their wives and their children and their idle trucks, put out of work at the behest of the Labor Party, at the behest of the Leader of the Opposition, all for the benefit of the Transport Workers Union.

So when we say, 'We stand for jobs,' we mean it and we deliver. We delivered last night. We delivered jobs back to tens of thousands of Australians.

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister will resume his seat. Members on my left and right will cease interjecting.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I raise a point of order on direct relevance: the Prime Minister is proving he cannot give a straight answer.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No. The Prime Minister.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This morning I addressed that issue on a building site with the minister, Senator Cash, who has done such an outstanding job in this regard, and we talked about the Australian Building and Construction Commission and the need to restore it, because restoring the ABCC restores jobs to the construction sector. The rule of law must prevail. Lawlessness in the construction sector keeps honest men and women out of work. Once again it serves only to promote the interests of one of the Leader of the Opposition's great supporters, the CFMEU, 105 officials of which are currently before Fair Work or the courts on more than 1,000 charges of breaking industrial law.

As to the election, let me say what I said already today: after the budget I will advise the Governor-General to dissolve both houses of parliament and I will advise him to call an election on 2 July. The Governor-General will consider that request and that advice and he will make a decision, and that is the constitutional fact. That is why I say I expect there to be an election on 2 July. But of course my constitutional duty is, under section 57, to advise the Governor-General of my wishes in that regard, and it is up to him whether to agree to dissolve both houses and issues the writs.

Honourable members interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before I call the member for Dobell, members on both sides will cease interjecting. The level of noise is far too high and we are only five minutes into question time. Member for Dobell.