Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is simply a lie. We do not allow unqualified electricians from any country—including China to work in Australia and threaten the safety of Australians. I might add that that is quite different to the Labor government, which was allowing untrained people to put pink batts into people's houses, causing regrettable and lamentable deaths of people who were untrained. Under this government, electricians will only operate in Australia if they meet Australian standards. The campaign by the Electrical Trades Union and the ACTU in particular comes from the concern that, by representing only 12 per cent of Australian workers, the union movement sees that it is facing the end of its rort-laden career. The only chance they have of continuing to be relevant in Australia is that they can somehow get the Australian Labor Party back into government. They, representing only 12 per cent of Australian workers, will then control Australia. This is a conspiracy, I think, of major proportions. You only need to look at those numbers to understand what a scourge on the Australian economy the union movement is—(Time expired)