Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The construction industry is a dangerous industry. Tragically, 40 construction workers lost their lives at work last year. They did not return home. The construction industry is rife with rogue labour hire companies ripping off temporary workers. We have a problem when it comes to safety in that safety breaches are being raised but are not being properly followed up. We have a problem with asbestos. We thought 'banned' meant banned, but it is coming through weak border controls onto our construction sites. Yet this isn't what the government is focused on. No. This government is not focused on the tragic workplace deaths or the asbestos coming onto our construction sites. No. Instead, what it is focused on is banning the Eureka flag or banning stickers that show the Eureka flag. This is the priority of the government.

This flag actually has a very proud history in our nation. For those who don't know the history of the Eureka flag—and, as the federal member for Bendigo, it is controversial that I raise it because it is a flag from Ballarat—it is about the many nations that came together on the goldfields under one flag, under the Southern Cross. It is a flag that represents our multiculturalism, yet that is what this government is focused on banning. That is what this government's ideological war is doing today: banning a flag from construction sites. Grow up, government!