Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister: Can the Prime Minister confirm that Minister Cash's ministerial career has included misleading the Senate five times, running—

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

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

Sorry, could the minister just begin his question again? There was something I had difficulty hearing.

Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister: Can the Prime Minister confirm that Minister Cash's ministerial career has included misleading the Senate five times, running an office that undermined an AFP raid, appointing an ABCC commissioner despite knowing of allegations he had broken the very law he was sworn to uphold and now being ordered by the Federal Court to give evidence regarding leaking information about an AFP raid? Prime Minister, why is Minister Cash still there?

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

Senator Cash is doing a better job protecting workers than the honourable member does, let alone the Leader of the Opposition handing over hardworking members' money to GetUp! without authority. What do they call that down at the court of petty sessions?

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Opposition Business (House)) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker—

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

The Prime Minister will pause for a second. I think I understand the point of order you're going to raise. Do you want to just let me have a go and if it's something different then pop up? The Prime Minister was reflecting on the Leader of the Opposition when he made a direct accusation. That's different from posing a question, if I can put it that way, so the Prime Minister does need to withdraw that.

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

I withdraw that.

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

The Prime Minister has the call.

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

The question that the Registered Organisations Commission is investigating, as is its duty, is whether members' money was paid to GetUp! without authority. That's the question. That's what it is seeking to investigate. You would think that, the moment the ROC inquired, the union would have said: 'Of course, it was fully authorised. Here are the minutes. Here's all the evidence.' But, no, the union has done everything it can to obstruct the investigation, and the opposition is doing everything it can to support the AWU in obstructing that investigation.

What we're talking about here is $100,000 of members' money. Was it paid with authority or not? If it was, then let's hear why it was paid. Let's see the evidence. Why won't the Leader of the Opposition and the union produce the evidence? Why are they surprised that people are starting to believe that it was not paid with authority; it was paid in an unauthorised way? Why do they imagine that people wouldn't think that, given the opportunity to provide the evidence has been given but it has not been provided?

The ball is very much in the court of the AWU and the Leader of the Opposition. Where is the evidence that this money was paid to GetUp! with authority? It's pretty basic. Looking after members' interests, looking after members' money, putting members first, doing the right thing by the workers—these are all the things that the Leader of the Opposition has claimed he did. We know about the penalty rates he traded away again and again. But this is cold hard cash—$100,000. Was it given to GetUp! with authority or not?