Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

Mr Shorten doesn't care about workers. If he cared about workers he wouldn't have sold them out in deal after deal, as he did as a union leader. He sold workers out, including the trading away of their penalty rates again and again, and that is of course a matter of public record. This motion that the Attorney-General, the Leader of the Government in the Senate, has moved is about the very orthodox proposition that it is the government that determines the prioritisation of government business during government business time. There's absolutely nothing inappropriate about that.

Senator Wong indicates that all she's proposing to do is have a debate on Monday in relation to a government piece of legislation—as if this was quarantined and contained to a debate on Monday. She knows that that's not true. The way the motion that she has circulated is worded means the debate could go from Monday to Tuesday to Wednesday to Thursday—all the way to Saturday. It doesn't say anywhere in the motion that the debate on the government bill, which Senator Wong is trying to bring on, would finish on Monday. It doesn't say that anywhere at all in the motion she has circulated. She knows that that is true. This is actually all about the Labor Party running a protection racket for union-dominated industry super funds. They have quite a cosy arrangement—we keep reading in the newspapers about how there's money going to the Labor Party from union-dominated industry super funds.

There is legislation before the Senate that is a high priority for the government, a high priority for the Senate and, we believe, a high priority for a majority of senators in the Senate, but the Labor Party is prepared to do anything to protect the racket of union-dominated industry union funds and unions channelling money to the Labor Party. We've got legislation here to improve corporate governance, improve trustee arrangements and improve integrity. Why? It is because we want to protect the retirement savings of Australian workers. The Australian Labor Party never cares about workers. The Australian Labor Party cares about the unions. It cares about the vested interests of the unions. It cares about protecting its own vested commercial interest.

Look how sanctimonious they are about the fact that we moved a motion asking Senator Dastyari to properly explain himself. Clearly Senator Carr has forgotten when, together with Senator Xenophon at the time, he moved a motion to summons the Minister for Defence into this chamber, asking the Minister for Defence to provide an explanation in relation to naval shipbuilding matters—of which the Senate took note. All the government has proposed to do in this chamber is entirely consistent with that. What we have here in front of us is essentially the government saying, 'Here is a list of bills that represents the government priorities for government business time.' I shared the list with the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate earlier today. I would argue that the reason the motion that was initially circulated by Senator Cameron, and which is on the Notice Paper,was adjusted to become the motion that Senator Wong circulated in the chamber somewhat later was a direct result of me sharing the government priorities with the opposition, which we, of course, would want to see reflected in any motion of ours for next week.

Senator Wong said, 'They don't want to have any amendments or debate.' That was precisely what Senator Wong was about to do. Senator Wong was about to move a motion on government business, in relation to government business time, without letting the government amend it to add government business items. We accepted that there would, most likely, be a majority in this chamber to deal with Senator Cash's Fair Work bill. All we had asked for, which was entirely reasonable, was to be able to add the government list of bills to that particular motion. Labor is not prepared to support and improve corporate governance for superannuation and they're not prepared to increase the level of integrity and accountability for industry super funds, and that is the only reason they're not prepared to entertain an amendment from the government to an opposition motion on government business. It is absolutely unprecedented that not only would an opposition move an hours of meeting motion seeking to order government business, but they would actually seek to prevent the government from amending the motion—not to remove anything but to add items for government business for consideration by the Senate next week.

The proposition that somehow the Labor Party should be able to stop the government from dealing with government business next week is absolutely preposterous. It is arrogant. It is a complete and utter overreach. That is the reason the Leader of the Government in the Senate has moved the motion we have before us. It is entirely up to the government to move a motion on government business. If the opposition wants to seek to amend it, go for it.