Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you for that. I can understand why Labor senators jump to the defence of the unions every time the facts are shown. As the two Labor senators said in this debate, we are addressing the answer given by the minister and, according to the two Labor senators who spoke, the minister's answer was attacking the unions. I can understand why the CPSU, of all the unions, has a 44 per cent membership, and I might come to that shortly. In the private sector, the union membership is 12 per cent. It is no wonder people leave the unions.

I want to indicate, as the minister did, that this is an issue which has attracted this government's attention and the money that this government controls. The immediate and urgent priority for the coalition government is to ensure the safety of women and their children at high risk of experiencing violence. As the minister indicated, in September last year the Prime Minister announced a $100 million package to provide essential services and leverage innovation technologies to keep women safe and to provide education resources to help community attitudes to violence and abuse.

Like the submarine debate we had, here is a government in this area actually doing things that Labor did not do when it was in government. Labor complained about the submarines, but when they were in government for six years not one contract did they give for submarines or any shipbuilding whatsoever, and it is similar here. This government actually does things. It puts money into it, and I have mentioned the $100 million package. It does not just get up here when the CPSU rings the bell or pulls the chain. When they do, up jump the Labor senators to try to increase their membership drive or whatever they are doing. The coalition government acts—it puts money into it—as it is doing with shipbuilding. It again shows the abject hypocrisy of the arguments of the union movement and of the Labor senators who are simply mouthpieces for the union movement.

I want to also indicate that under the National Employment Standards of the Fair Work Act, employees already have a specific right to request flexible working arrangements if they are experiencing family violence or providing care or support to a member of their family or household who is experiencing family violence. The act also includes a number of other provisions that may assist employees who are experiencing domestic and family violence. This is already there in the act. These provisions include a range of general provisions, statutory minimum entitlements to personal, carer's and compassionate leave to support a family member with a serious personal illness or an injury. These things have been addressed, they are being addressed and, more than that, they are being supported with government money, as the minister indicated.