Ben Morton (Tangney, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I don't rise to speak on many of the MPIs, but I really couldn't go past this one, particularly as I would be following a former trade union leader who was talking about respect. In my response to the MPI today I'm going to talk about the lack of respect that many in our trade unions have for workers. The Labor Party is not the party it once was. It is not the party of Bob Hawke or Paul Keating that backed jobs, understood aspirational Australians and backed workers and their families. Today's Labor is too busy reporting to the union bosses of the CFMEU. It is too busy accepting donations from them and too busy being linked to those organisations that have shown nothing but disrespect for Australian workers. The CFMEU is a case in point. Last year about 80 officials were before the courts. Last year $14.9 million worth of fines had already been paid by the unions, and it has now clicked over to $15 million worth of fines. It is an organisation that just does not respect the rule of law. They openly flout the legal system. But why don't you hear about this from the Labor Party? Perhaps it is because of the over $600,000 worth of donations from the CFMEU to the Labor Party in the last three years alone. What a disgrace!

Australian workers think it's unacceptable as well. I really can't understand how the Labor Party can talk about respect for Australian workers when you look at the CFMEU's own actions at Glencore's Oaky North mine site last year. They were threatening and intimidating workers who were going to work at a job to make a life for themselves and their families. I choose not to repeat those particular threats that were made. They were not acceptable for repetition here in parliament. They're not even acceptable for repetition in the roughest and toughest front bars of pubs across Australia. And then we get to someone like John Setka, Bill Shorten's workplace relations director and key advisor. He is a person who has a long history of criminal behaviour, yet he's determining Labor's agenda on almost anything from behind the scenes. It just shows you Labor's priorities. But, given that the unions have donated over $31 million to Labor since the member for Maribyrnong became the Labor leader, it is no wonder they are joined at the hip.

I'm in parliament for hardworking Australians who want to apply their effort and succeed. The government has a plan for every hardworking Australian, and we can see those plans bearing fruit now. Some of the best news we have seen is on the creation of jobs. Four hundred and fifteen thousand new jobs—the largest number in our country's history—were created only last year. And 75 per cent of those were full time. Over a million jobs have been created since the coalition government was elected in 2013. That's respect for the contribution of Australian workers, right there—making sure that many more people have the opportunity to work hard and be rewarded for their effort.

In relation to personal tax cuts, the government's responsible plan for personal income tax relief is a plan for every Australian. We have a plan that makes personal income tax lower, simpler and fairer. Our tax relief package encourages and rewards those hardworking Australians. It backs businesses to invest and create jobs. Hardworking Australians are respected when they keep more of their hard-earned money in their pockets and they get to decide how to spend it.

The other thing that we can do as a government is to respect the contribution of Australian workers by managing their taxpayer dollars in a very disciplined way. This government is making sure it manages taxpayers' money in a disciplined way. We've kept a tight rein on spending growth. Spending is forecast to grow by an average of 1.9 per cent. That is the lowest spending growth of any government in the last 50 years. And that's less than half of the four per cent spending growth we inherited from the Labor Party. The underlying cash balance is in the best position we've seen since the Howard government's final budget, and the budget will return to balance in 2019-20. We have legislated over $41 billion of budget repair measures. That's respect for the workers who work hard and pay their taxes.

The government is standing up to Labor and union thuggery. We are providing an opportunity for more Australians to get the benefit of work, to provide for them and their families. That's respect for the Australian worker.

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