Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to my Gold Coast colleague, the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment. Will the minister outline how the restoration of the rule of law to the construction industry will strengthen Australia's tourism industry?

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And is the minister aware of any other alternative approaches?

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

Members on my left! The member for Whitlam! The member for Griffith has already been ejected from the House today.

Opposition members interjecting—

Oh, that was yesterday. Okay. Maybe I am getting ahead of myself!

Steven Ciobo (Moncrieff, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to thank the member for Fadden for his question. He, like I, together with the member for McPherson, have a deep passion about Australia's tourism industry. We are very much looking forward to the Commonwealth Games and what we will be able to showcase of the Gold Coast to the world.

I also know that, as part of his interest in tourism, the 2016 Tourism Investment Monitor, which was released by Tourism Research Australia, shows that the total value of Australia's tourism investment pipeline is some $60 billion, or thereabouts. They also estimate that hotel transactions were about 4.2 billion last year, with more than half of those transactions on the Gold Coast. In 2018, as I mentioned, the Gold Coast will host the Commonwealth Games. The Games will put our great city on the world stage. It is going to boost tourism in a city that has about 30,000 people reliant on it. That is why the coalition government was pleased to put $156 million into the Commonwealth Games four years early, representing our commitment.

But I note that the member for Fadden asks about the rule of law. Members in the chamber may have seen some footage that was recently released in relation to CFMEU officials. They were hurling abuse and intimidating safety officers on the Commonwealth Games site. So what was it that the CFMEU was saying? I have to say, Mr Speaker, I am mindful that often there are children in the gallery and children watching on TV. So I will be considerate of that in terms of reading it out to the House. The CFMEU said: Beep—'you'—beep. 'I'll'—beep—'drive you, eh? Drive you'—beep. 'You know what? You know what? I know your phone number. I know where you live'— beep. 'I'm telling you now. I'm'—beep—'telling you'—beep. That was what the CFMEU said.

Mr Perrett interjecting—

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

The member for Moreton will leave under standing order 94(a).

The member for Moreton then left the chamber.

Steven Ciobo (Moncrieff, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The strange thing, Mr Speaker, is: it is not the language that the Labor Party find offensive. The fact is: there are another four letters that the Labor Party find deeply offensive. Those four letters are: 'ABCC'. That is what the Labor Party find offensive. That is what they do not like to hear about. We know already that they have been given 11 million reasons to look away when it comes to building and construction sites—11 million reasons for 'Bikie Bill' to turn away from the kind of outlandishness that we see—

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

The minister will withdraw.

Steven Ciobo (Moncrieff, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Apologies. I withdraw that remark. We know that the Labor Party turns a blind eye to it. So the question is this: is Labor proud of CFMEU standover tactics on the Games site? Is Labor proud of 113 CFMEU officials facing 1,100 charges? We are proud of our track record on investment, but you should not be proud of turning your back on the ABCC. (Time expired)