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

I'd like to take note of government document No. 6, the Australian Building and Construction Commission's Performance of the functions and the exercise of powers of the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner: quarterly report: first quarter of 2017-18 financial year: operations from 1 July-30 September inclusive. You really can't deal with this document without dealing with the minister who had, until recently, oversight of the Australian Building and Construction Commission, and that is Senator Michaelia Cash.

Senator Michaelia Cash has really made an absolute mess of everything that she has touched. She has come in here as an industrial warrior, a political warrior, for the coalition. She has sat and not properly oversighted her portfolio area. You only have to look at what's been done by this minister: putting her apparatchiks in various so-called independent organisations—the Registered Organisations Commission, the Australian Building and Construction Commission and the Fair Work Ombudsman. You see a mesh and a framework of people associated with this minister in these so-called independent bodies and actually acting in a partisan way against the trade union movement and against the Labor Party. This minister is an absolute disgrace.

It was only an hour ago that I was up in the Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee hearing that was a flow-over from the estimates committee hearings. Minister Cash was there. I gave her the opportunity once again to actually be honest and be up-front with the Australian people in relation to her bad behaviour as a minister, her poor behaviour as a minister and her failure to uphold Westminster standards—her coming into Senate estimates and on five occasions misleading the parliament. On five occasions this minister misled the parliament. She then had to come into estimates and concede that one of her staff was the leak to the media of a Federal Police raid. The Commissioner of the Federal Police, at a subsequent estimates hearing, indicated that he was extremely concerned about those leaks because it puts the Federal Police in danger and puts their capacity to do the job effectively in question.

This is a minister who has presided over some of the worst aspects of ministerial oversight that I have ever seen. Here she was. The previous ABCC commissioner, the disgraced Mr Nigel Hadgkiss, who had responsibility to oversight the ABCC and who had responsibility to carry out and police the legal requirements of the industry, was breaching the standards that he was supposed to uphold. This was another one of Senator Cash's apparatchiks: the disgraced Mr Nigel Hadgkiss, the former commissioner. This was when she was in a position where she should have taken action against him but did not. She spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of public money to defend this commissioner. The commissioner himself was spending this money, and the minister, Michaelia Cash, had no proper oversight of the disgraceful activities.

The Registered Organisations Commission is another so-called independent body set up by this government to attack the trade union movement and the Labor Party. This is a government that is outrageous. Minister Cash would do well as part of the ruling oligarchy in Russia, doing what they do to subvert democracy there. Minister Cash is doing the same thing here. Minister Cash is an absolute disgrace. Minister Cash should resign. Minister Cash should be honest with the Australian public. She should show some credibility and some capacity to understand what her obligations are. If she did, she would resign.

Sue Lines (WA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Cameron, your time has expired.

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

I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.

I'd like to take note of government document No. 20, the Australian Building and Construction Commission's Performance of the functions and the exercise of powers of the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner: quarterly report for the period 1 October to 31 December 2017. I just want to turn to the situation in the Australian Building and Construction Commission. This is one of the worst organisations to have ever been established by a government in this country. It's an organisation that is designed to attack the trade union movement and diminish unions' capacity to properly service and represent their membership in the industry. It is a political tool of the government, and it's a political tool that was used against the union movement by Senator Michaelia Cash when she was the minister responsible.

Senator Michaelia Cash needs to be honest with the Australian public. Senator Michaelia Cash should stop expending public money to defend her position and hide her involvement in the raids on the AWU offices. Hundreds of thousands of dollars has been expended by the minister and the Registered Organisations Commission on attacks on the trade union movement, and that is unacceptable. All this minister needs to do is be honest and open with the Australian public. All this minister needs to do is stand up in the Senate and answer the questions that she's been asked. All Minister Cash needs to do is stand up in the estimates committee hearings and, again, be honest with the Australian people. But this minister is incapable of being honest with the Australian people. She has set this network of influence in so-called independent organisations such as the Fair Work Ombudsman, the Registered Organisations Commission and the ABCC, using her influence and the influence of the Liberal Party to attack the trade union movement and her political opponents. The sooner these organisations go, the better. The sooner this minister resigns, the better.

This is a minister who has got no concept of ministerial responsibility or of what she needs to do as a minister. She has simply been caught out doing what she should not be doing—that is, interfering in the operation of so-called independent bodies. This is a minister who denied five times that her office had any involvement in the leak to the press of an Australian Federal Police raid on the AWU offices in Sydney and in Melbourne, and it was a humiliating exercise when she had to come back in to concede that her office was involved. She continues to refuse to indicate whether she has been interviewed by the Australian Federal Police. She continues to refuse to take responsibility for what has happened. It's the worst example of ministerial responsibility I have ever seen in this place, and there have been lots of problems on the other side of this chamber.

This is a minister who does not deserve to be sitting on the frontbench in this place. She should resign because she is not accepting what she should do—that is, show honesty towards the Australian people and the Senate. This is a minister who comes in here and uses parliamentary privilege to attack union organisers and the trade union movement, and uses all of her capacity as a minister to attack them unmercifully. Yet, when she is in a position where she should be accepting ministerial responsibility, she refuses to do it. Hundreds of thousands in taxpayers' money is spent attacking the trade union movement and working people in this country, and it's all designed to diminish workers' capacity to get a decent rate of pay and conditions in the building industry. The minister's position is that she would like to see workers earn less. It's an absolute disgrace that this coalition government comes in here talking about tax and helping the working people in this country. They have no concept of what working people in this country need in terms of decent wages and decent conditions. If they did, they wouldn't be misusing these independent bodies. (Time expired)

I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.

I'd like to take note of document No. 27, the Australian Building and Construction Commission's Performance of the functions and the exercise of powers of the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner: quarterly report for the period 1 January to 31 March 2018. We've got a new commissioner in place after the disgraced Nigel Hadgkiss was basically forced to resign, and we have a minister in Senator Cash who allowed that disgraced commissioner to receive about a month's pay when he should have been sacked. This is a minister who took no responsibility for this senior appointment being in breach of the act that he was supposed to be oversighting and regulating.

Senator Cash has never in my time here actually really been worried or concerned about Australian workers. She was at one stage the Minister for Women, and you can look at the disgraceful performance that she turned on when she attacked young women in the Leader of the Opposition's office in what was the most disgraceful performance I have seen. I have to say this to Senator Cash: no whiteboard will hide you from those performances, and no whiteboard will ever be able to disguise the terrible position that you took against young women. What a disgrace this minister was, who was supposed to be the Minister for Women, attacking the reputation of innocent, hardworking, effective—

Sue Lines (WA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator McKenzie, a point of order?

Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Minister for Regional Communications) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Cameron is talking about the way the former Minister for Women has purportedly treated women. She has been nothing but a very strong advocate, particularly for the women that were bullied by the CFMEU whilst—

Sue Lines (WA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator McKenzie, that is a debating point and not a point of order.

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

Senator McKenzie, thank you very much for that interjection. I have to say to you that you are defending a minister who shamelessly attacked young women.

Sue Lines (WA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Cameron, I will just remind you to make your remarks to the chair.

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

I apologise, Deputy President. This is a minister who shamelessly and publicly attacks young women, who are hardworking young people working in the Australian parliament. We see the attack that was done by this minister. It was disgraceful. She had to be forced to even make a moderate apology; she had to be forced into that position. For Senator McKenzie to come in here and try to defend that obnoxious attack on young women in the Leader of the Opposition's office is also a disgrace. Maybe Senator McKenzie should get up and apologise for that disgraceful attempt to try to cover up and support a minister who was shamelessly attacking young women in the Leader of the Opposition's office.

I don't expect anything very good from the National Party. I don't expect anything from the National Party. They are the doormats for the Liberal Party; they simple do exactly what the Liberal Party asks them to do. I would have thought there would have been at least some sense from Senator McKenzie not to engage in what has been one of the worst attacks on young women in this place, in the 10 years I've been here, that I have ever seen. Senator McKenzie should actually get up and apologise. Senator McKenzie should not associate herself with what has been widely seen as one of the worst attacks ever on young women who have worked in this parliament.

I know why this is being done. It is because the minister herself won't take any responsibility for her actions. Minister Cash has refused to answer questions. Minister Cash is continuing to expend public funds to defend her position, and it's absolutely outrageous. Here comes the cavalry from the National Party. That great defender of women, Senator O'Sullivan, has just walked in. I'm sure that he'll make some terrible contribution as well. He is someone who has bullied women in this place incessantly and constantly. Minister Cash should consider her position. Minister Cash should do the right thing. Minister Cash should accept some responsibility and resign. Minister Cash has one of the worst public profiles of any minister. She is an embarrassment to an embarrassing government, and that takes some doing. Minister Cash should do the right thing and resign. (Time expired)

Debate adjourned.