Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Good people, absolutely. There are good people in unions, but there is also a sickness within the union movement, and that sickness is the construction division of the CFMEU.

In 37,000 words in this chamber, when the senators on the other side were debating the ensuring integrity legislation, they could only bring themselves to mention the CFMEU once—once in 37,000 words. Why is it that the senators on the other side are institutionally incapable of dealing with the CFMEU? The whole of the trade union movement in this country is going to be punished and hurt, and is already being hurt, because of the actions of the construction division of the CFMEU. They are giving trade unions all over this country a bad name. It is unjust. It is unfair. But it will only be stopped if those on the other side of the chamber or a sufficient number of crossbenchers realise that the only way to address this cancer is to take appropriate action. Bob Hawke did it in the 1980s with the BLF. Why? Because Bob Hawke believed, as I believe, that workers should be entitled to go to work without the fear of intimidation, harassment and extortion from the CFMEU.