Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Road Safety) Share this | Hansard source

Sure—through the chair: do you know? You have no idea. They got an SMS. Now, before we start talking about the disgraceful rates of pay that Qantas workers demand: they were negotiated over the years. They were negotiated by the workers on one side, represented by their unions, and by management on the other side. I know, because I've been in the room for a number of them: Qantas EBA mark III and Qantas EBA mark IV. There was no gun to their head; Qantas did it.

Senator Stoker, you need to understand: these jobs are still there. Your government has thrown taxpayers' dollars out like confetti to Qantas—$800 million for JobKeeper, over $1 billion all up—your government. That's your government. And do you know what Qantas are doing? They're giving you this—this is what they're saying to you: 'Thank you very much, because we're not only going to get rid of the workers; we want their jobs to come back with companies that will not even pay Australian standards.' They won't pay the superannuation guarantee charges that we are seeking. They will fight like hell. And you make it sound like Qantas are going broke. Guess what, Senator Stoker? I'm not allowed to say this—as she walks out of the chamber: you hypocrite. What hypocrisy. You couldn't wait to bag out other senators—