Tony Sheldon (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I refer to the matters that have been raised by Senator Wong and the order for the production of documents. One of the advantages of coming to this place after a career outside parliament is having a bit of life experience and perspective. I can remember a time when the standards of ministerial integrity were different from those of the current government. I can remember when John Howard, the leader who is supposed to be the model for Scott Morrison, parted with at least five ministers when they breached the ministerial code of conduct in the 1990s. How the world has changed! The Liberal Party has ultimately inflicted on us all the Prime Minister who thinks he is above the rest of us. This is a Prime Minister who is above the standards that the Australian public rightly demands from this parliament. Shame on the Prime Minister, and shame on the government that he is supposed to be leading.

Last week we saw the parliament reject this government of no integrity, which had the gall to bring in the ensuring integrity bill. This was a repressive piece of legislation designed to kneecap unions ahead of a full-force attack on the working conditions of ordinary people. Where is the integrity in continuing to punish Australians with stagnant wages and a stalling economy, and then going after the very organisations designed to lift up working people so that their voice can be heard in our industrial relations system? Where is the integrity in going after journalists who are just doing their job? Where is the integrity in moving the secondary boycott laws, which stop ordinary people from speaking out against companies that are doing the wrong thing? Can you believe it? A law to stop ordinary people from speaking out on secondary boycott matters!