Bob Katter (Kennedy, Katter's Australian Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I address my question to the Prime Minister. Sally McManus has been a great union leader in this country. Would you quote her in this House, please?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Kennedy for his question. This is what the leader of the trade union movement said:

I believe in the rule of law when the law is fair and the law is right, but when it's unjust I don't think there's a problem with breaking it.

We should respect the rule of law. We should always respect the rule of law. We shouldn't encourage people to break the law. It shouldn't be optional for trade union leaders and militant union thugs who might want to come onto sites. It's not okay for members to encourage those to be wilfully not obeying the law by going on and preventing people from accessing their place of work, which those opposite know all about.

There's no wonder why those opposite did not want me to read out that quote. There's no wonder why they didn't, because it betrays their hypocrisy. It betrays their hypocrisy that it's alright for union thugs to come and try to knock this building down. It's alright for that. They'll support them then. They'll support them when they're out working away with John Setka and outlawed motorcycle gangs, and it's okay when they commit these crimes. They'll let them stay in this country, which is what happened under the Labor Party. But when we're in government and we want to send those thugs out of this country and we want to introduce laws that strengthen our protections to enable us to kick those thugs out of this country, guess who votes against us? The Labor Party. That's not the sort of weakness this country needs. The Leader of the Opposition was part of a Labor Party which let outlawed motorcycle gang thugs and the union leaders who work with them to get away scot-free. That's not how you run a country if you're a strong leader. This Leader of the Opposition is a weak reed. He is a weak reed. He is not someone—

Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Manager of Opposition Business?

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There was no doubt the first part of the answer was in order, and there's no doubt that this part is completely irrelevant to the question.

Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Has the Prime Minister completed his answer?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No—

Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question that was asked by the member for Kennedy was extraordinarily broad. I will give the call to the Prime Minister but the Prime Minister should return to the general thrust of the question.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I can only go back to what the leader of the trade union movement said. She said she didn't have a problem with people breaking the law. I understand the Labor Party has sympathy with that. I'm wondering whether the Leader of the Opposition will be going out and meeting mates out there who have gone to prison who he backed into their roles in the New South Wales parliament. Or are they are going down to Eddie Obeid's ski lodge this winter?