Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is giving a $50 billion handout to big business and a tax cut for millionaires on 1 July, while supporting pay cuts for nearly 700,000 Australians.

Government Members:

Government members interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Members on my right.

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Why does the Prime Minister have a plan for big business but always has an excuse to do nothing for Australian workers and their penalty rates?

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister for immigration and the Treasurer, the Prime Minister has the call.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The plan for big business that the Leader of the Opposition had was taking secret payments to the AWU. That is what he had. Let's go through a few of them. He says he is proud of his time as a union leader—

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There he is—you can't take it, can you?

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister will resume his seat. Members on my right! The member for Corangamite! The Manager of Opposition Business. On a point of order?

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On a point of order—on reflection on members.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat. It might assist her own side, if she is not concerned about the House, for the member for Lindsay to cease interjecting. I am listening very carefully to the Prime Minister's words. So far from what I have heard, he has referred to events—I was trying to listen through what was loud interjections on both sides. Let me assist the House by saying this: there was a statement made in answer to one of the questions last week which on reflection I felt I should have asked to be withdrawn. I have asked other things to be withdrawn since. It would assist me if members do not interject in such a fashion that I am prevented from hearing. I want to keep hearing the Prime Minister and I am listening very closely. The Prime Minister knows that he cannot reflect on members.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition talks about plans for big business and dealings with big business. Here are some details of payments by big business which were kept secret from the members of the Australian Workers' Union and were paid to the Australian Workers' Union. Thiess John Holland—$300,000 while they built the Eastlink freeway. The AWU issued false invoices to disguise the payments as training—

Ms Plibersek interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Sydney has been warned.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

back strain research, forum tickets and conference sponsorships. None of these benefits were provided. ACI Operations, another example of big business, paid the AWU in Victoria half a million dollars while workers were laid off at the Spotswood glass manufacturing plant. The AWU invoiced the payments as paid education leave, but the payments were used to pay off a union loan on its premises. And what about Chiquita Mushrooms? That is a very famous one. It paid the AWU $24,000. Again, the AWU did not trouble their members with any details of these payments from big business. What was that invoiced as? Again, paid education leave. You have to hand it to the AWU—they are absolutely committed to education, at least on all those dodgy invoices. What about Unibilt, who made a campaign donation of $32,000 to the member for Maribyrnong in 2007, when he was running for parliament, at the same time as the company was negotiating an enterprise agreement with the union of which he was the national secretary?

We are not going to take lectures from the Labor Party about dealings with big business. They say they are proud of the Leader of the Opposition's record as a union leader. It is one secret payment after another. If he was so proud of those payments, why doesn't he tell the world? Why doesn't he tell us what they were really for? We know they were not for the matters set out on the invoices. Let him tell us the story. He has a great barrister there, the member for Isaacs. He says he is especially proud of the Leader of the Opposition. He could get him to make a case, powerful advocate that he is. He could sell anything. We do not care who presents the facts, but it is about time that Labor told the truth about these secret payments from big business. (Time expired)

Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Defence Industry representing the Minister for Employment. Will the minister inform the House why it is important to outlaw secret payments between big unions and big business? Is the minister aware of any examples where the integrity of enterprise bargaining agreements has been undermined by the behaviour of unions and some businesses?

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Fisher for his question. He, like every member on this side of the House, knows that we must end the corrupting benefits in the industrial relations system that have been infecting the relationship between business and the unions for decades. That was identified by the Heydon royal commission. This government is implementing the recommendation to outlaw corrupting benefits and to make the payment of them a criminal act. I know that the member for Fisher is very keen on industrial relations reform. He, like every member on this side of the House, wants to see that change come about.

He asked me for a few examples. There are a few examples. The Prime Minister went through a few just then. Visy Industries, for example—$200,000 to the AWU in 40 secret payments, while they were negotiating six enterprise business agreements with the AWU. The Leader of the Opposition was the secretary at the time, national then state. Alcoa—$90,000 to the AWU across eight secret payments while they were negotiating five enterprise business agreements. Sugar Australia—$16½ thousand to the AWU while they were negotiating three enterprise business agreements. It goes on and on—business after business negotiating enterprise business agreements with the AWU while the Leader of the Opposition was the state or national secretary.

The Leader of the Opposition would have us believe that this was all the most amazing coincidence, the most remarkable coincidence, and there was no connection between the workers' rights being sold down the river under enterprise business agreements while secret payments were being made by those businesses to the Australian Workers' Union. It reminds me of that wonderful movie, Muriel's Wedding. 'Deidre Chambers—what a coincidence! Make some room for Deidre Chambers, family, so she can come and join us.' You can just imagine the Alcoa executives at the Bamboo House in Little Bourke Street—we have been there many times—enjoying themselves between their shark fin soup and their duck pancakes, discussing their enterprise business agreements and their relationship with the union, and who should come into the restaurant? Bill Shorten—what a coincidence!

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the House will refer to members by their correct titles.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Of course, Mr Speaker—the Leader of the Opposition. They probably would not have called him that, but nevertheless. Their favourite union leader came into the restaurant. 'Make some room, fellers, for the Leader of the Opposition!'—while we discuss our enterprise business agreements and the secret payments that we make to the union to ensure that workers are sold down the river. The AWU has more power in the Victorian Labor Party and this man has more power at the preselections and the state council of Victorian ALP. That is what it was all about, and we are going to keep exposing it.