George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

That is not what we say. What we do say is that we respect the independent umpire, the Fair Work Commission, and so should you. I do not feel abashed at all in saying that you too, on the Labor side, should respect the independence of the Fair Work Commission, because it used to be the position you all took. It used to be the position you all took. In fact, it was the Gillard government that set up the Fair Work Commission in 2009, and Mr Shorten as a minister in the Gillard and Rudd governments is on the record on numerous occasions saying that the Fair Work Commission is an independent arbiter, it is an independent umpire and its decisions ought to be respected by all parties. So it is not the government that has changed its attitude to the Fair Work Commission, Senator Moore—through you, Mr President. It is you and those on your side of politics who used to say the Fair Work Commission's determinations should be respected and now you say they should be legislatively reversed.