Andrew Laming (Bowman, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Justice and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Counter-Terrorism. Will the minister update the House on the work of the Trade Union Joint Police Task Force? What are the threats to the success of the task force?

Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Bowman for his question. The Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption found one thing very clearly after its 21-month investigation, and that was that there is widespread lawlessness amongst some in the union movement. The new secretary of the ACTU, Sally McManus, confirmed that on her first day in the job, when she said it was all right for unionists to break laws that they did not agree with. When that happened the member for Moreton and the member for Batman took to Twitter to claim that that made her a cross between Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King!

This government is not prepared to stand by and watch lawbreaking from any section of Australian society. You need to look no further than the state secretary of the CFMEU in Victoria, John Setka. He heads up the CFMEU—the bikie wing of the union movement. He has been charged and convicted in relation to 40 separate charges—five times for assault, seven times for wilful trespass, five times for resisting arrest and five times for assaulting police. Where did we last see John Setka? In 2016 at Bill Shorten's election night party.

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

I have said many times that ministers, and all members, need to refer to members by their correct titles. I warn the minister.

Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will rephrase, Mr Speaker: we last saw John Setka, the head of the CFMEU in Victoria, at the Leader of the Opposition's election night party in 2016. What an endorsement of this sort of behaviour, where someone who punches on with police is invited to come and celebrate after the 2016 election. We in the Liberal Party will not stand for lawbreaking, and we have established joint task forces with the Australian Federal Police and their state police counterparts to investigate and prosecute union lawbreaking. We have invested $21 million so they can do their job. I have been advised just recently by the Queensland Labor government that they are going to withdraw Queensland police from the task force. They apparently think there is no union lawbreaking in Queensland, which is interesting because the CFMEU has a branch in Queensland and the former president of the CFMEU has been charged for allegedly colluding to organise construction on his home, making a personal gain in excess of $400,000.

Mr Brendan O'Connor interjecting—

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

The member for Gorton will leave under 94(a).

The member for Gorton then left the chamber.

Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

So the Queensland Labor government withdraws Queensland police resources from this joint task force going after union corruption. Clearly this task force's success is one of the reasons why they have decided to withdraw police resources. The Leader of the Opposition wants to run the country like he ran the union, and that means a wink and a nod to corruption, turning a blind eye to people who have a rap sheet as long as John Setka and doing nothing about union corruption in any state of Australia.

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

I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.