Wyatt Roy (Longman, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Acting Minister for Employment. Will the minister update the House on the importance of ensuring fair and lawful workplaces? Are there any threats to the government's approach?

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

I thank the member for Longman for his question. It is a very important question. Obviously we on this side of the House—and I am sure those on the other side of the House—are following closely the evidence that is being adduced in the royal commission into trade union corruption. We have ever since we have been in government—

Mr Champion interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Wakefield will leave under standing order 94(a).

The member for Wakefield then left the chamber.

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

trying to put in place the architecture that will support honest union leaders and ensure that dishonest union leaders are brought to justice.

Opposition members interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There will be silence!

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

We are doing that through the Registered Organisations Commission and through the Australian Building and Construction Commission.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker—

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

This could not be more relevant, Madam Speaker, so I am not sure what point of order he could possibly make.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister will resume his seat. The member for Grayndler on a point of order.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I make the point that the member for Wakefield is the 400th person to be thrown out. He is the Brian Lara of this parliament.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member will resume his seat. I remind the member for Grayndler that this parliament has only 150 members but you have a lot of recalcitrant offenders. I call the honourable minister.

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

The Leader of the Opposition has done a lot of correcting the record this week—a lot of correcting the record today and yesterday. It is very important that witnesses in the royal commission are entirely truthful with Dyson Heydon about what they knew and when about the scandal that is embroiling the Australian Workers Union. That applies to all the witnesses—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister will resume his seat. The member for Perth on a point of order.

Alannah Mactiernan (Perth, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, I wish to raise the point of sub judice in relation to royal commissions. It is quite clear that members are entitled under the convention to refer to the evidence at a concurrent royal commission but what is equally clear is that it is entirely inappropriate for any construction to be drawn on that evidence. There is an important reason for that. That is in fact to protect the integrity of the royal commission.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member has made her point. I have ruled on this point previously.

Opposition members interjecting—

There will be silence. The sub judice rule does not apply in this case. Indeed, I follow the ruling of the former Speaker in 1995 who dealt with these issues, Speaker Martin. I call the minister.

Alannah Mactiernan (Perth, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No. The member will resume her seat. This is not a debate.

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

It is very important obviously that all witnesses give truthful evidence and correct the record when they appear at the royal commission. The Leader of the Opposition has indicated that he wishes to do just that on 8 July when he appears at the royal commission. He wants to correct the record. He has also tried to correct the record this week about his lie on Neil Mitchell, which he has explained as a lie, which occurred on 21 June 2013. There is another record that he needs to correct. Ten months after the Neil Mitchell interview, 10 months after the coup that removed Julia Gillard, the Leader of the Opposition appeared on the Ben Fordham 2GB program.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Grayndler on a point of order.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Relevance, Madam Speaker.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member will resume his seat. The minister has the call.

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

Everybody should be truthful before the royal commission. A lack of truthfulness presents a threat to the government's agenda. I was asked about threats to the government's agenda, Madam Speaker. On the Ben Fordham program Ben Fordham said to him:

Considering that this is all history now, are you willing to admit that you did give your word to Rudd supporters a week before the coup?

Bill Shorten said:

On June the 19th I hadn't changed camps.

We know that is not true. Ben Fordham asked, 'You hadn't?' And Bill said no. The reality is that is just as bad a lie to Ben Fordham on 2GB as the lie he told to Neil Mitchell on 3AW. It behoves the Leader of the Opposition to correct the record, to ring Ben Fordham and apologise to him and all of his listeners for lying. If Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard could not trust the Leader of the Opposition and if Neil Mitchell and Ben Fordham could not trust the Leader of the Opposition, why should the Australian people trust him on election day next year? The reality is that the Leader of the Opposition is a dead political duck.