Sean Edwards (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment Bill 2012. I concur thoroughly with Senator McKenzie's comments. I sit on the Scrutiny of Bills Committee, and we did have some concerns about the legislation. As Senator McKenzie rightly pointed out, that committee is yet to receive a response from Minister Shorten with regard to those concerns, but here we are, facing the guillotine.

This bill shows how unwilling Labor is to take on and rein in the arrogance and rampant mismanagement of its union underwriters. It shows that Labor is more interested in talk and spin than in true action and reform. The revelations involving the Health Services Union demonstrate that there is a need to ensure that the money paid by members to registered organisations is used for proper purposes. But, under Mr Shorten's plan, former union bosses are going to regulate union bosses. So the former keepers are now going to regulate the current keepers. How can you take Labor seriously when Greg Combet, now Minister Combet, was the head of the ACTU and Bill Shorten sat on the ACTU—