Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Brandis, the spokesperson for the Abbott government in this place today. I refer the senator to section 99 of the interim report of the Hayden royal commission, which examined a confidential or secret report. As the senator is aware, the Commissioner examining organised crime, union and/or political corruption wrote:

It is necessary for that volume to be confidential in order to protect the physical well-being of those witnesses and their families. This is unfortunate, because the confidential volume reveals grave threats to the power and authority of the Australian state.

I also refer the senator to a transcript of a media report where Senator Abetz refused to directly answer the question:

What is the grave threat that he's—

the Commissioner is—

talking about?

Has the senator or any other members of the Abbott government had official access to a copy of the Hayden royal commission confidential report and, if so, how many members?

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is a very important question. Let me come to it directly. The danger is the threat to witnesses. The danger is the threat to the life and wellbeing of witnesses and their families, because one of the shocking things that the Heydon royal commission has discovered is a pattern of conduct of unlawfulness by some trade unionists and some trade union leaders, particularly, though not exclusively, the CFMEU, including serial violence.

Senator Cameron interjecting—

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Senator Cameron!

Honourable senators interjecting—

Everyone come to order! Senator Brandis, you have the call.

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think we all know why Senator Cameron is so sensitive when it comes to union thuggery.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, on a point of order—

Government senators interjecting—

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order on my right! Before you take a point of order, Senator Wong, I was going to invite the Attorney-General to just withdraw that remark about Senator Cameron.

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I withdraw.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Brandis.

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In the published volumes of his interim report, Mr Heydon, who it should be remembered is a distinguished retired judge of the High Court of Australia, found a pattern of serious criminality, contempt for the law, threatening conduct and actual physical violence and intimidation. That is what he found in his public report. There are confidential elements of the interim report as well, which particularise further those matters. I think, Senator Lambie, you would understand very well, if a royal commissioner decides to go into the detail with particularity of specific threats of violence and physical harm to witnesses, why that would be kept confidential—and it should be kept confidential. It is a very common practice for royal commissioners and commissioners of inquiry to produce a confidential volume of their report in relation to sensitive matters such as this.

Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Given that Senator Abetz, in his reply to the media's question about the confidential royal commission report, demanded that the Labor Party 'get on board with our Registered Organisations Commission legislation and the reintroduction of the Australian Building and Construction Commission', can the minister detail for the chamber the names of people his government shared the royal commission's secret report with, and were any of these crossbenchers?

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No, I cannot. It would not be appropriate for me to do so, so I certainly will not. The Heydon royal commission is still ongoing. We are still to await its final report at the end of this year. But, already, in the published interim report we have had shocking revelations of criminality, of intimidation, of physical violence, of threats of harm to the wellbeing of honest people who have come forward to the royal commission to expose that culture of criminality with which the CFMEU and its senior officials, and certain other militant trade unions as well, I am sorry to say, are associated. You would understand why those witnesses need to be protected. But what a shocking thing it is that they should need to be protected, in modern Australia today, from threats of physical harm and violence to them by trade unionists!

Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Given that the royal commission's secret report says that there are 'grave threats to the power and authority of the Australian state', and Senator Abetz has publicly admitted it is very important to the reintroduction of the Australian Building and Construction Commission, has the Abbott government failed to share a vital secret report with crossbench senators because it would uncover political corruption and harm the Liberal Party's reputation?

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What Senator Abetz was concerned about, what all of us should be concerned about, including the honest and decent members of the Labor Party who sit in the Senate, is the culture of violence, intimidation, criminality and corruption associated with certain rogue elements of the trade union movement and, in particular, with the CFMEU. That is why this government has committed itself to the reintroduction of the Building and Construction Commission to deal with the culture of illegality and unlawfulness and intimidation and violence on workplaces.

Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a witch-hunt against working people!

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Cameron!

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There you go again, Senator Doug Cameron! You are sensitive about this, aren't you? You should not be defending these people. You should be joining with all the honest members of the Labor Party in this place.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Pause the clock.

Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I rise on a point of order. I wanted to know: is there political corruption within that report?

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Lambie. Senator Brandis, you have 13 seconds in which to answer the question.

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a confidential volume. I do not think you would expect me to be referring to the contents of the report in an open forum such as this. I think it is enough for you to know— (Time expired)