Leon Rebello (McPherson, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to expose what looks like an industrial-scale conspiracy at the heart of the Australian Labor Party. Last year the Prime Minister shut down parliament's scrutinising the scale of the CFMEU-Labor corruption racket. Now, they stand accused of presiding over $15 billion in washed money. This CFMEU-Labor cartel has ripped off Australians, driven up construction costs and pushed homeownership further out of reach.

Geoffrey Watson SC's report into systemic corruption in the Victorian CFMEU division was delivered on 1 December last year, yet two chapters allegedly detailing the CFMEU Labor cartel have been stripped from the version made public. What are they hiding? Australians have footed the bill for $15 billion in washed money. Recent AEC disclosures show the CFMEU money flowing back into Labor coffers, despite the PM's promise not to take it. When scrutiny was shut down last year, Australians were told it was unnecessary, and now we know why. This is not isolated misconduct; it is systemic, it is entrenched and it is protected. If the Victorian minister refuses to release the full, unredacted report, the Prime Minister must answer for himself or be complicit in a cover-up. Australians deserve transparency, integrity and a government that confronts corruption, not one that shields it.