Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Corporate Governance and Responsibility) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Coonan, the Minister representing the Minister for Revenue and Assistant Treasurer. Is the minister aware that the Cowra Abattoir, which attempted to sack and then rehire workers on lower rates of pay under Work Choices, was placed into liquidation in recent days? Can the minister confirm that the administrator’s report found that over $1 million was transferred to related companies during the same period in which the Office of Workplace Services conducted its investigation, such transfer reducing the funds available to pay workers’ entitlements? Can the minister further confirm that these loans are the subject of an ASIC investigation? Given that the government’s Office of Workplace Services, at the insistence of the Prime Minister, thoroughly investigated the financial circumstances of the company, can the minister indicate whether OWS ever alerted ASIC to these suspect transactions? Minister, when precisely did ASIC first become aware of the transfer of these funds?