Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

Through you, Chair—sorry.

Senator Cameron interjecting—

The TEMPORARY CHAIR: Order, Senator Cameron! Senator Cameron, Senator Hanson sat in silence through your speech.

Really, was that the speech of a senator, or was that a unionist that is in here? I have to take this all into account. Actually, we have the crossbench here. We have people here, from Senator Hinch, who has decided now to do the right thing by Australian companies, workers and everyone here—and I congratulate him on that—and we have Nick Xenophon, who has looked at this, and of course we have Pauline Hanson's One Nation. Now, we have travelled Australia quite extensively. My background to do with workers and everything like that has actually put me in this position, and I have had a good look at this bill. I have spoken to the workers, I have spoken to small business, I have spoken to big business and I have even had the unions in my office—not once, not twice, but at least three times plus. I said to him, 'You are not doing the right thing,' and he looked across at me and he said, 'You are right. We are not angels.' He admitted it to me: 'We are not angels.'

I have had businesses saying they are being controlled by the unions—the CFMEU, threats. I remember, last year, the night that we stayed here till after midnight debating this bill. There were all the unionists walking the hallways here, trying to intimidate members of this parliament. Do you think that is the right thing to do in here? Shouldn't we be looking at the legislation and what is right for the people of this country? And that is how I think it should be, not intimidation by the unionists and actual threats.

So what are the unions doing now? Let us look at the CFMEU. What are they doing? They are putting ads on TV to try and intimidate the Nick Xenophon Team. Is that the way you do it? Is the way you do it like just prior to the last election, when the unionists turned up at my office with the media? They had brought all the guys that were on the building site across the road. They all came there. We asked them, 'What are you doing here?' They said, 'We don't know. We were told. Our bosses told us to come here.'

Senator Cameron says that I do not care about apprenticeships. That is not the case. From day one, I have been speaking to the Prime Minister about an apprenticeship scheme. We need to get apprenticeships going. I will fight tooth and nail, and I will keep going, till we get more apprenticeships in this country. Senator Cameron said I am not doing anything for the workers out there. What did the Labor Party do about 457 visas holders? The greatest number of 457 visas holders in the country was under Labor. Just last week, I sent a letter to immigration minister Dutton's office and to the Prime Minister's office to address 457 visa holders for the marine engineers, because the 457s are coming in and taking over the jobs of Australian workers. They have been lobbying in the parliament here for the last 18 months for someone to do something about workers coming in and taking over the jobs on the ships here in Australia. Where was Senator Cameron then? Where was the Labor Party?