Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Women) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Paterson, a very passionate senator from Victoria, for the question. I can confirm that earlier today the Prime Minister introduced this government's legislation to honour our election commitment to the people of Australia and, more particularly, the 60,000 volunteer firefighters in Victoria that we will protect them from this hostile union takeover. The Turnbull government is taking decisive action to protect the Victorian CFA from Labor's takeover by the United Firefighters Union through a new enterprise bargaining agreement. Our legislation will amend the Fair Work Act to protect the CFA.

What the Victorian government and those opposite are trying to do is a misuse of the Fair Work Act and, further, is actually contrary to the legislation that governs the CFA in Victoria. The Fair Work Act should never, ever have been used or been able to be misused quite deliberately for the purpose of undermining the 60,000 volunteers in Victoria. The proposed CFA agreement contains a number of clauses that are discriminatory against volunteers and provide the United Firefighters Union with an unreasonable, unwarranted degree of control over volunteer operations, including a veto over management decisions.

We on this side of the chamber make no excuses. We will stand side by side with the 60,000 volunteer firefighters in Victoria who give up everything—including sometimes, if they have to, their lives—to ensure that Victoria always remains firm, to protect it from fires during the fire season. (Time expired)