Gerard Rennick (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Sure. Ask the workers on the EastLink project how they feel about union representation. So-called flexibility measures ripped workers off substantially. The builder then paid the union almost $300,000 over the next few years. Unions look after their mates in the ALP and vice versa. Then there was the Winslow incident, where workers had their union fees paid by the company, seemingly without their knowledge—just the block of members being chucked into the AWU for no apparent reason. Or there's Cleanevent, where workers were signed up to the union without knowing, where the union numbers delivered diminished penalty rates of hardworking cleaners. Again, to enhance union influence in the Labor Party, cleaners and construction workers have been clear victims of modern trade unions. It is a disgrace.

Finally, if Labor are concerned about unions having more influence, why not bring them to the table on an issue where they do have a stake? They should perhaps look at getting unions on board with amendments to the Fair Work Act to make it easier for small businesses to comply. To look at how difficult this is, we need only look at the failure of compliance by Senator Watt's old employer, Maurice Blackburn. If an industrial law firm can't get it right, how can a small-business owner with no legal training ever get it right?

The fact remains that, except with those directly opposite, unions are less relevant than ever. In a global economy with complex supply chains, a union official is likely to be unqualified when determining how modern slavery might corrupt complex supply chains. This is the reason none were selected, and to suggest that anyone is incompetent for making a correct decision only serves to sum up the ALP: a party who are interested in protecting their rivers of gold from union fees and superannuation funds. The hardworking Aussie battler was left behind by the Labor Party a long time ago. Human rights are non-negotiable, and ending slavery is a critical goal. We should all be working together to achieve it.