Michael Ronaldson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I am not going to speak for long because we have some very, very good people in the gallery to hear three very, very good speeches, so I will keep it fairly short. But I do want to say that this is another example where the Australian Labor Party cannot keep their grubby little mitts off the Senate estimates process. This is another attempt—and Senator Marshall is walking out; I will talk about you, so I would come back in if I were you. They cannot keep their hands off the Senate estimates process. We have 'Clerk' Marshall down here, who apparently knows more about the standing orders and Senate processes than former Clerk Evans! What an absolute joke. 'Clerk' Marshall interjected before that he knew more about it than Clerk Evans, that Clerk Evans—the Clerk for some 20 years—was wrong. And the Australian Labor Party are saying that Clerk Evans knows less about it than they do.

Since the Australian Labor Party have been back in government, we have seen them absolutely turn the Senate estimates process upside down. We know for a fact that this is about protecting someone who must accept his obligations as a statutory officer to appear before Senate estimates. He is not a judicial officer. He does not appear as a judicial officer. Fair Work Australia is not a judicial body. It is inexcusable that the President of Fair Work Australia does not appear at Senate estimates, as is his responsibility.

The other thing I want to talk about briefly is that we saw the most disgraceful intervention of the Australian Labor Party into Fair Work Australia in February this year. We all know that Fair Work Australia is investigating the HSU complaint in relation to the misappropriation of union funds. We know that Fair Work Australia is investigating the use of funds to buy alcohol, to pay for escort services and indeed to remove cash. Fair Work Australia is under enormous pressure at the moment to deliver an outcome, an outcome driven by the union movement in relation to fraudulent use of members' funds. This president must remain there. But what did we see in February this year in estimates? We saw someone, no less than the Leader of the Government in the Senate, trying to close down the opposition's legitimate questioning of Fair Work Australia in relation to the outcome of its investigation into the removal and misappropriation of union members' funds from the HSU, implicating the most senior people in the union movement, one of whom has been in the public eye—very much so, particularly in the last two weeks.

I just want to put some background to this matter. Last year—

Senator McEwen interjecting—

So it is okay, is it, for the Labor Party, Senator Lundy—or whoever it was who interjected—to abuse the Senate process to close down the legitimate questioning of an officer who was prepared to answer a question? That is okay, is it? They are the new rules? It is okay to behave like that.

I will just go through very quickly what happened on this occasion. Last year, Mr Nassios, from Fair Work Australia, made it quite clear that he was not prepared to talk about whether Mr Thomson had been investigated or interviewed because it might interfere with his investigation, and I respected that. I did not—

Senator Thistlethwaite interjecting—

I beg your pardon?