Jamie Briggs (Mayo, Liberal Party, Chairman of the Scrutiny of Government Waste Committee) Share this | Hansard source

That would be terrific, Mr Deputy Speaker. I was present during the member for Wakefield's contribution on this bill earlier in the week and I guess it gets back to the old saying that what goes around comes around. The point I was making is that I think the latest statistic we have is that about 90 per cent of those in the Labor caucus are former union bosses of some description. It is something that many of them are very proud of. The member for Wakefield is first among equals there.

Go to the Labor Party website and have a look at the backgrounds of the MPs and the candidates who are running, obviously, as hard as they can at the moment in most seats—it is true that Labor has not preselected in all its seats at the moment; I am not sure why that is. What really surprises me is that if you try to discover where they worked prior to entering parliament—the member for Wakefield, for instance—you will find that that is very difficult to establish. It is a fascinating thing that, for people who are so proud of the fact that they are former union bosses—I think it is 90 per cent of them—it is very difficult to establish from the profiles on the Labor Party website that that was their career. I often ask myself: why would that be, with such pride in their contributions to their union over time? I acknowledge that the member for Wakefield did good things; he helped Bridgestone workers. I know that one of his proud achievements is that, when Bridgestone closed factories in Adelaide, he was there helping those workers out. I acknowledge that the union movement has done great work for people over the decades where necessary. My great-grandfather was the longest serving secretary of the Miscellaneous Workers Union in Victoria during the 1960s. That is a fact that some people find surprising. It is a fact that a former employer of mine found a little odd.

I acknowledge that some trade union members have done great work. So it does surprise me, and it perplexes me, to be honest, that despite such pride in being a union boss—or a union lawyer, as we know the Prime Minister was—that fact is not up in lights on the websites of these Labor members and candidates. I cannot figure out what the reason for that might be. Maybe it is that the Labor Party is increasingly ashamed of the fact that it has to stand by members of parliament who used to be presidents, for instance, of a once great union; stand by members of parliament on behalf of their once great party who have misused thousands—allegedly millions—of dollars of funds, who have misused the contributions of hardworking people who push trolleys up hospital corridors. I know there are those on the other side who, if that has been the case, find it completely abhorrent, want it to be sorted out and want people to be prosecuted appropriately. It is right for them to think that, because there is a black cloud hanging over the trade union movement in the country right now. It is sad, because many thousands of workers join unions for a good purpose: to receive advice and services as they require, particularly at the lower level of the wage bracket. It is a sad thing that those union members are now saying to themselves, 'Why was it that I contributed that money that was then used for things such as the alleged procurement of adult services?' That is something I think is a real shame for the Labor Party. I wonder if there is a correlation between that and the fact that I cannot find any link on any website that says that 90 per cent of them are former union bosses.

When I was here, I think it was on Tuesday, listening to the member for Wakefield make his contribution to the debate on this bill, I heard him start by talking about the pride he has in Australia having the highest minimum wage in the world.

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