House debates
Wednesday, 29 March 2017
Questions without Notice
Taxation
2:00 pm
Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
My question is to the Prime Minister. Yesterday in question time, the Prime Minister said he was delivering the economic growth that Australians deserve. Does big business deserve a $50 billion handout? Do millionaires deserve a $16,000 tax cut? Do nearly 700,000 Australians deserve a pay cut?
2:01 pm
Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Nothing is more phoney than this Leader of the Opposition. This so-called champion of the workers! Oh, yes, we have seen him snuggling up to big business. And it is not just socialising with big business; it is doing real business with big business—taking money from big business. Let's have a look at the record of the Australian Workers' Union. Let's look at the things they did not tell their members. And do not turn away, Leader of the Opposition.
Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Do not you turn away from your members. You would not face up to your members. What a coward. He was not prepared to tell his members in 2007 that he was taking a $32,000 political donation from Unibilt—a company with which the AWU was negotiating an EBA. Not only did he not tell his members but he did not tell the Australian Electoral Commission. It took a royal commission and eight years to find out about that.
What we have seen, again and again, is members sold out. What about the workers at Cleanevent?
Mr Hammond interjecting—
Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
He talks about looking after the workers—some of the lowest-paid workers in Australia: cleaners. They could have been getting $50 an hour, but they got $18 an hour, thanks to that hero's advocacy.
Ms Plibersek interjecting—
Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
What a champion! But the main thing is: the union got paid money; the union got money and one false invoice after another. Let's look at a few of them. What about this—what about ACI Operations? It paid the AWU in Victoria half a million dollars while workers were being laid off at their Spotswood glass plant. What was that money for? Well, we never would have found out that it had even been paid had it not been for the royal commission. This former union boss wants to run the country like the way he ran the AWU—he wants to run the country like he ran a union. That money was taken and was never disclosed. It took the royal commission to find out. And what did the union invoice it as? Paid education leave. What was it used for? To pay off a loan for the union. It was used for the union's own purposes.
Mr Frydenberg interjecting—
Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
The Minister for the Environment and Energy!
Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
In terms of what Australians deserve, they do not deserve to have their country run by this union boss. That is what they definitely do not deserve because he will sell them out like he sold out his members again and again.