Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Hansard source

The government is committed to ensuring the clean-up of registered organisations. We went to the election with a very firm policy in this regard, and we have every intention of pursuing it. The simple fact is that after 1 July the DNA pool on that side will in fact become even more concentrated, with the percentage of ex-trade union officials sitting on that side being even greater—hitting about two-thirds. Two-thirds of all those Labor senators will be former trade union officials—who, as Senator Lines said so eloquently, put the union interest before the national interest. We invite the new Senate to see the benefit of the Registered Organisations Commission—something that Martin Ferguson and Simon Crean, both former ACTU presidents, have in fact endorsed.