James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

I'm speaking on a bill called the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022, but I reckon it should be renamed the 'Let's Give Union Bosses a Return On Their Investment in the Labor Party Bill 2022'. In terms of this new National Anti-Corruption Commission that has come into being, I wonder whether we're going to see a referral to the National Anti-Corruption Commission in relation to the relationship between the unions and the Labor Party. This bill actually isn't about higher wages, which we all support. This bill is about the Labor Party government giving a return on the investment that was put into the election of a Labor Party government by the unions. That is what this bill is all about. It is an acknowledgement that the Labor Party, which is defunct on the ground, won the election due to the campaigning strengths of the union movement as a political and campaigning movement. For that, the Labor Party has to return a favour to the union bosses, and that's what this bill is all about. It is about empowering union bosses. It's about empowering union thugs to go into small businesses across Australia and intimidate business owners, intimidate workers and threaten them, because that is the business model of the union movement.