Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Women) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Williams for his question and, disappointingly, yes, I can. Last week New South Wales police arrested a former secretary and a former accounts manager of the National Union of Workers. Together, these two former NUW staff members are facing 172 fraud-related charges. They are accused of misusing $870,000 of their members' money. The facts about these arrests and the charges faced by these NUW staff members were released on Friday by the New South Wales police. Had it not been for the royal commission, the New South Wales police and the public may never have known of these incidents. As the royal commission has unfortunately concluded, this type of behaviour is probably the tip of a very large iceberg.

The National Union of Workers represents approximately 90,000 members. This includes many people who work in warehouses and factories; it includes people who process meat and package food. They deserve to know how their money is being spent by their union and they need to know that their interests are being looked after. When any worker pays hard-earned money to any union or employer group, they expect to be properly represented. They do not expect to be robbed, especially to the tune of $870,000. Clearly, existing laws are inadequate, and they are not preventing this type of behaviour. Existing laws continue to fail to prevent these types of events, and this government will clean this up.