Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

What a ramble that was, one that failed to come up with any logical or coherent reason at all for opposing this amendment. Indeed, the heart of Senator Abetz’s argument was that he would uphold people’s right to free speech, and yet by objecting to this very amendment he is also saying that he also upholds the right of bosses in Brethren workplaces to ban free speech and gathering and unions’ right of entry to hold discussions in those workplaces. What Senator Abetz had to say is completely illogical.

At the heart of this lack of logic is the abuse of the term ‘conscience’. This is not a conscience clause that is protecting the Exclusive Brethren. It is the manipulation of the law through intense and relentless lobbying over the last half-century in several states—and the Exclusive Brethren lobbyists are here with us tonight—that has been able to impose this term ‘conscientious objection’ in a way it was never meant to be applied. I do not know about the references that Senator Abetz made, but I can ask him this: what is it that the Exclusive Brethren owners of workplaces, where 4,000 Australians are being discriminated against by the proposal in this legislation, think is an affront to conscience? Senator Abetz said himself that they object to the right of entry of union representatives to hold discussions. Where is the conscience in that matter? There is none. This is a concoction to prohibit unions from going into the 33 workplaces only in Australia that are controlled by this very secretive sect and prevent them from exposing to the light of day the conditions of those employees. You only have to talk to ex Exclusive Brethren folk—and I have to say they are wonderful people—