Andrew Hastie (Canning, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have a sensible question for the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. Will the minister update the House on actions the government is taking to ensure our skilled migration program does not disadvantage Australian workers? Is the minister aware of any alternative approach that jeopardises the job opportunities for hardworking Australians?

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for Canning very much for his question. It is a fact that this government has been about putting Australians first when it comes to putting people into jobs. That is the claim of this government not only in our words but in our deeds and actions. We have worked to tidy up the 457 program, which was exploited by the Labor Party when they were in government, exploited by the Labor Party that took the opportunity to bring foreign workers into this country and put them in places otherwise occupied by Australian workers. There has been a lot of hypocrisy from this Leader of the Opposition on display in question time today, but the hypocrisy demonstrated by this Leader of the Opposition has been on display for many, many years. In question time today there is a contest of character going on, and this Leader of the Opposition fails it at every turn. They have sought today to besmirch the reputation of the Prime Minister of this country, a man who started with nothing, worked hard, employed Australians and created businesses. They want to contrast him to this Leader of the Opposition, who has run around for years conjuring up dodgy deals not in the interests of union workers but solely in the interests of union bosses. He used the 457 program—

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

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

The member for Bruce is warned. The member for Perth has been warned; he can leave under 94(a).

The member for Perth then left the chamber.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We saw the hypocrisy of this Leader of the Opposition when he was secretary of the AWU, where he presided over deals where hundreds of thousands of dollars were paid to his union to the benefit of the union bosses, without telling workers about it. At the same time, he was negotiating away the conditions of those workers. This is the Leader of the Opposition: he wants to pretend one thing in this place, he wants the Australian people to believe one thing, but the reality is the opposite. This Leader of the Opposition has demonstrated in his current position and throughout his working life that he will take advantage of any situation to the benefit of unions, and that is why the CFMEU and others completely own and operate this Labor Party. They have contributed $10 million to this Labor Party over recent years, and it is why this Leader of the Opposition is in here, day in, day out, prosecuting the cause of union bosses. I see the former Deputy Prime Minister Brian Howe up in the gallery today. He was part of a government that actually represented workers. He was part of a government that had members of parliament in the Labor Party who had had real jobs. The reality is, when you look at these union bosses, when you look at them starting from their leader down, they have not represented the interests of workers. They have not stood up for workers; they continue on each and every occasion to stand up for the union bosses ahead of the interests of the union workers, and this Leader of the Opposition stands condemned. (Time expired)

Honourable members interjecting—

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

I again caution members on both sides, and I refer them to the statement I made a few weeks into this parliament: if the level of discourse continues in such a poor fashion I will continue to eject people under 94(a). But I am making it very clear, as a reminder, that I also said I reserve the right to take more severe action and to do so without warning. If anyone who has been warned does not understand that and if those who have regularly been ejected do not understand it, they will understand it shortly.