House debates Questions without Notice
Prime Minister
Ms Julie Bishop Curtin, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition
2:59 pm
My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer the Prime—
Unidentified interjection - Hansard doesn't record who said this
Honourable Members:
Ms Anna Burke Deputy-Speaker
Order! The Deputy Leader of the Opposition will begin her question again, and she has the right to be heard in silence.
Ms Julie Bishop Curtin, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition
And the clock will start again?
Ms Julie Bishop Curtin, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition
I refer the Prime Minister to her statement today that she provided legal advice to set up the AWU Workplace Reform Association and to her 1995 statement to Slater & Gordon that it was a slush fund to finance election campaigns. I also refer the Prime Minister to the incorporation documents that make no mention of financing elections. Does the Prime Minister admit that, when she inserted the name 'Australian Workers Union' in the documents with the stated purpose of promoting workplace safety, it could have misled people that it was an authorised union entity for the purpose of workplace safety when neither— (Time expired)
Julia Gillard Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister
3:00 pm
Whilst I am not entirely sure of the point of the deputy leader's question—she did not appear to get to it—on my role in relation to providing legal advice for the AWU reform association, the nature of my role is dealt with in the Slater & Gordon internal review document from 1995, which has now been in the public domain for quite a long period of time.
Kevin Andrews Menzies, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Families, Housing and Human Services
Another nonanswer.
Julia Gillard Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister
I dealt with this very clearly in a very long press conference that I gave on 23 August, and I refer her to all of the things that I described there. I refer her to the fact that I have dealt with this matter again today. That is the sum total of it. It is dealt with in some detail. So, whilst the Deputy Leader of the Opposition will keep twisting and turning and bringing in more irrelevancies—
Kevin Andrews Menzies, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Families, Housing and Human Services
You're the one twisting and turning!
Julia Gillard Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister
because, of course, the opposition do not have any positive plans for the nation's future, so they have to fill the air with sleaze and smear. No amount of asking questions on this matter is going to take the matter further about my role than what I have already very clearly dealt with on the public record.
Ms Julie Bishop Curtin, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition
I seek leave to table a 1997 letter from the WA state crime squad to the Industrial Relations Court of Australia confirming that Thiess Contractors paid money into this slush fund believing it was authorised by the union and would not have done so if it had known it was unauthorised.
Anthony Albanese Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House
No, I table from the Australian 'Bishop's asbestos case role' from 3 December 2007.
Ms Anna Burke Deputy-Speaker
The Leader of the House will resume his seat.