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

Thanks, Deputy President. I would just say on that spurious interjection and interruption by Senator O'Neill that I was actually responding to comments that her colleague Senator Cameron had made in this debate—and the debate is not on government principles; it is a debate to take note of something that Senator Cormann did.

I can assure members of the Labor Party that I'll be back after the next election. I will be back, and I will be doing that in the same way as your colleague Senator Singh did on one occasion—and I suspect will do again. I know that there is a lot of disloyalty, disruption, backbiting and division within the Labor Party, but I think Senator Singh will be back—and I'll be glad. She is a senator who shows the strength of her convictions. She is prepared to buck the machine, and good on her. It just shows the absolute division within the Labor Party. If you want to speak more about the division in the Australian Labor Party, let's have a look at their position on trade matters. Half of them are on one side and half of them are on the other side. They don't know where they are at. And, of course, Mr Albanese is there pushing on all this disunity because Mr Albanese sees that his time as Leader of the Opposition is fast approaching.

That brings me to a point that Senator Cameron always makes in attacking a female minister, one of the best ministers, who just so happens to be a female minister. You don't see Senator Cameron attacking too many male ministers in this place. In attacking Senator Cash, one of the best ministers we have had, Senator Cameron told mistruths about her, saying that she was disgraced and that she had misled the parliament. She is certainly not disgraced. I don't know if Senator Cameron thinks that if he says the word 'disgraced' often enough someone will eventually believe him. She is a brilliant minister. She is not at all disgraced; in fact, she is revered. She is looked up to by most Australians, because she did such a wonderful job in exposing the union movement for all of the rorts, dishonesty and illegality that it is involved in. Senator Cash did that, and because of that she has paid the ultimate price. The union movement, with their pockets of gold, are determined to get rid of her—and Mr Dutton, another very effective minister who stands up for what is right. The union movement, with their pockets of gold, will do everything they can to destroy Senator Cash and Mr Dutton—but it won't work in either case.

The unions will continue to attack Senator Cash. Why? Senator Cameron often talks about a raid on a union office. He seems to think that that is a problem. The police got a warrant to go and raid, to investigate criminal activity. And what was the criminal activity that they were investigating? It was whether or not Mr Bill Shorten, then a leading unionist, had misappropriated funds that had been given to the union movement into his campaign account for his tilt at being elected to parliament.

Senator O'Neill interjecting—

I don't know whether that's true or not, Senator O'Neill, but we do know, on the record, what that was all about. It was a police investigation—properly done with warrants—into a parliamentarian's office to see whether there had been criminality in the transfer of funds from the union movement to Mr Shorten's campaign account prior to his election here.

Of course, the last thing Senator Cameron or the Labor Party want to discuss is that particular issue. They are doing everything possible to derail the investigation into that alleged criminality. Senator Cameron will come in here and attack Senator Cash every day of the week. Why? It is because Senator Cash was the minister—she didn't make the decision of course; it was the authorities—who the authorities in her department decided needed to look into those allegations of criminality. But you never hear that from Senator Cameron; it's always, 'Oh, this raid on a member of parliament's office.' That's not the issue; the issue is: was there criminality by Mr Shorten in transferring, without authority, funds from the union movement to his campaign account? That's the question. Suddenly everyone has gone quiet. That's the issue that Labor Party senators don't want to be raised at this time.

All I can say is that Senator Cash has done a wonderful job, as has Mr Dutton in his role as border protection minister. He is the home affairs minister, who keeps Australians safe and keeps our migration policy operating properly. GetUp! and the unions, who fund the Labor Party and the Greens, don't like that, so they'll do everything they can to destroy those people. I see they're even trying to destroy my friend and deputy leader. He has been a wonderful minister in every portfolio that he has touched, whether in government or opposition. He has done a wonderful job. He's being attacked now for being promoted. I can't follow the logic of Senator Wong's attack on Senator Birmingham for his well-deserved promotion in the last reshuffle.

Senator Birmingham interjecting—

Don't thank me, Minister. I only speak the truth on these sorts of things, as I always do.

I return to my real point here. I have been here a long time and I have seen some robust debates in this chamber, but never have I seen these sorts of despicable, gutless attacks you get from members of the Australian Labor Party on public servants, who have no way of answering back. Senator Cameron can and does attempt to bully me, shout me down, accuse me and tell lies about me all the time. I don't mind that. I'm in this business, I have a thick hide and I can defend myself—I have the opportunity to speak. But Senator Cameron's regrettable, gutless and despicable attacks on public servants have happened only in recent years. I think it shows a lack of leadership in the Labor Party that those sorts of personal attacks on public servants are allowed to continue. The Senate and the Australian parliament are worse for that action.

It is one of the unwritten laws or conventions always followed that in this chamber you do not attack people who are not in a position to defend themselves. That is particularly so with public servants, who because of their roles always show—the word is not properly used—deference to parliamentarians because they see that parliamentarians are elected by the people, and they pay respect to them. They won't argue with politicians, because that's not their role or part of their appointment criteria. Politicians who come in and personally attack public servants, who they know have no ability to respond, deserve the contempt of the Australian people and I might say do achieve the contempt of the Australian people.

The previous speaker comes from a branch of the New South Wales Labor Party that has many of its politicians and ministers in jail for corruption and dishonesty. I'm amazed that Senator Cameron ever has the gall to mention this subject. Senator Cameron has never and can never deny that he was a good mate of Eddie Obeid, who is now serving time in jail, and the man who regrettably has my name—Ian Macdonald—and was a Labor minister in a New South Wales government I think of Senator Keneally. Senator Cameron was mates of these people. I understand that they protected his preselection. They helped him knife in the back his colleague George Campbell. I remember Senator George Campbell, a Labor senator here—not a terribly effective one, but he did the job and he did it honestly. Senator Campbell was a nice enough fellow. I understand he thought that Senator Cameron was a friend of his. But we all know from reading the newspapers that Senator Cameron knifed him in the back to get his position here in the parliament. And Senator Cameron well knew that, had he stood for preselection for the next election, he would have been beaten because people have long memories in the New South Wales Labor Party and the knives were out for Senator Cameron. He didn't even have the guts to fight.