Mark Dreyfus (Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Attorney General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Human Services, and I refer to his previous answer. The statement from his spokesperson yesterday said that 'neither the minister or anyone in his office informed media outlets'. So why does the report state:

… the journalist said their TV newsroom received a phone call from Keenan's office on the afternoon of Tuesday, 24 October, 2017, an hour or so before the raids.

The caller identified themselves by name to the newsroom and specifically said they were phoning from Keenan's office to make sure there would be cameras outside the union offices.

Does the minister stand by his spokesperson's statement?

Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Digital Transformation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I just answered that exact question. Yes is the answer. I'll return to what I was saying before. The issue here is that one side of Australian politics accepts and incubates a culture where lawlessness in the union movement is completely acceptable. That is the reality, and there's evidence for this. The Labor Party is financed by union organisations that have members who are consistently before the courts for law-breaking. The CFMEU, the most notorious union in Australia—77 of its members are currently before the courts on criminal charges. This union is more like a criminal organisation than somebody who's representing the interests of workers.

The Victorian head of that union was the guest of honour at the Leader of the Opposition's election night party. I didn't have any criminals at my election night party. I doubt anyone here had criminals at their election night party. But apparently the Leader of the Opposition had a convicted criminal with a rap sheet as long as my arm.

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

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

Members on both sides!

Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Digital Transformation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is another in a long series of distractions, running interference for the union movement, when what they should be doing is repudiating lawlessness within that union movement, not accepting money from unions that are acting like criminal organisations. But we know, under this Leader of the Opposition, that will never happen.

Honourable members interjecting—

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

Members on both sides! The member for Kennedy has the call.