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

After listening to Senator Cash for the last few days coming after the CFMEU with many spurious arguments, we now have the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Vulnerable Workers) Bill 2017 here, which has been delayed and delayed in being brought to this house. Do you know why it was delayed? Because a former minister of the coalition is now a lobbyist for the Franchise Council of Australia and that former Liberal minister was getting paid a salary by the Franchise Council of Australia while he was still a member of the government, while he was still in parliament. So let's hear what Senator Cash has to say about the impropriety of that little lot. Let's hear Senator Cash tell us why this bill was delayed. Former small business minister Mr Billson has been travelling around this parliament, knocking on every door he possibly can, trying to delay this bill going through.

It's an absolute outrage, and I will not cop any of the nonsense from this rabble of a government with the weakest Prime Minister this country has ever seen. Billy McMahon looks like a Liberal giant against Malcolm Turnbull. Malcolm Turnbull is such a weak-kneed Prime Minister that he allows former ministers to actually lobby on behalf of business to stop workers being protected in this country. It's an absolute disgrace. If there's ever thuggery going on, it's the political thuggery of the coalition and former ministers of this government running around trying to stop legislation that may help a little bit workers and foreign workers in this country stop being ripped off by farmers, by the mafia and by the ones they have lunch with every other day down in Melbourne.

Government Senators:

Government senators interjecting—

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

You know that you are in a position over there. You can come after the CFMEU and you can come after the unions, but when you are behaving badly, you say nothing. They say nothing. They are an absolute rabble of a government. It's no wonder that Malcolm Turnbull has to tell everybody how strong he is—'I'm a strong leader.' Here we have former ministers taking money from business while they are still a member of the government.

Debate interrupted.