Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Birmingham for his question and congratulate him on his first speech yesterday. I did read with interest suggestions that the ACTU’s dirty tricks campaign to manipulate public opinion about the current workplace laws is likely to be illegal. It would certainly appear that voters’ enrolment status, latest addresses et cetera, provided to Magenta Linus by the Electoral Commission, has been illegally passed to various unions in breach of the Commonwealth Electoral Act. Not only that, but unions are likely to be breaching privacy laws by collecting and storing irrelevant personal information such as mortgage information and family situation information without the consent of their members.

I listened with interest yesterday as Mr Rudd and Ms Gillard refused to condemn this roundly repudiated dirty tricks campaign while at the same time trying to pretend they knew nothing about it—the hallmark of Mr Rudd; like he knew nothing about Brian Burke’s breakfast, lunch and dinner, although he happened to be there! Like he did not know about the false dawn on Anzac Day or he did not know about certain business activities—