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

Hold on to that figure of 31,800, Senator Conroy—and 29,100 of them are full time. That means that since the introduction of the workplace relations changes some 18 months ago a massive 417,900 jobs have been created, 84.3 per cent of those being full time, and yet Labor dishonestly claimed that these workplace relations reforms would cause massive job losses. Unfortunately, Senator Barnett is right: there is a threat to continuing massive job creation, and that threat is the Australian Labor Party and its union masters—union masters who will force the Labor Party to reimpose policies such as right of entry by union thugs and the reinstatement of unfair dismissal laws, which would literally destroy jobs in this country.

Mr Rudd has made a great deal of pretending that he will stand up to the unions. He tells us he has drawn a line in the sand and that any unionist crossing that line will be kicked out of the Labor Party. The trouble is that that line keeps shifting. Take the case of Mr Harkins, the former preferred Labor candidate for Franklin and party powerbroker. Firstly, the Cole royal commission found that Mr Harkins engaged in unlawful activity. Enough for expulsion? No, the sand shifts. Secondly, Mr Harkins was charged with engaging in an illegal fray. The sand shifts again. Thirdly, Dean Mighell reveals that Mr Harkins approved a $50,000 donation to the Greens—enough to see the end of his own brother, Mr Greg Rudd, but not Mr Harkins. Fourthly, Kevin Harkins actually pleads guilty to engaging in illegal activity and then brags about it. Still not enough—the sand keeps shifting. And now today we hear that the Federal Police are investigating Mr Harkins in relation to possible inducements under the Electoral Act—a most serious allegation. When will Mr Rudd rediscover the line in the sand and expel Mr Harkins from the Labor Party? And, given admissions that their own leader’s office was involved in these discussions about Mr Harkins—