Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Hansard source

The trouble is you tend to go too far, instead of hitting the target that needs to be targeted and only going after those people who need going after. It's like your ensuring integrity bill. You didn't just go after the CFMEU; you went after every union, and that is not fair. You do not put everybody else in with some bad apples. That is not how this country works, and that's what you have done.

But you also had nine years, and, under your nine years, they continued to get worse. Your fines did not help. Your ABCC was rubbish. It did not work. You had your opportunity, because you have to go after the big picture, instead of just those people that are involved. You cannot help yourselves, and it's all about making a political statement. While you make your political statements over the weekend and don't support this, you put lives at risk. You have done that, and you are doing that. You are disgraceful.

Let me tell you something: these people have come to an agreement with those 20 points that you wanted. But having this administrator in estimates—how stupid are you? You want to bring in an administrator, who's going to do an investigation over the next three years, and get them to come in to estimates so you can ask them questions. That will probably put people's lives at risk. Really, you must get that. That's how policing works; that is how investigations work. You cannot bring an administrator in, who is hearing all this stuff, and ask them questions.

Opposition senators interjecting—

Oh, please, stop the rubbish! You had nine years, and you let your own people down. That is enough. Do the right thing this afternoon. Stop playing politics with this, and let's get this job done.

These people over here—my goodness!—are the party of division. How about them? They haven't said anything about the way these women were treated. They know very, very well that most of those union members out there are women, and they are standing up for the behaviour of John Setka and the CFMEU. That is where the Greens have got to. I still haven't heard them justifying their reason why they won't vote for this. I haven't heard you get up and give us one good reason why you won't vote for this. You are absolutely as shonky as they come.

That is not good enough. You haven't come up with one good reason. I don't know what they are getting over here.