Barry O'Sullivan (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the matter of public importance. It is always good to come in here and clear the sinuses, to get a lecture from the Australian Labor Party on how to manage the economy of this country. These are people, almost to the last person—these shop stewards and trade union delegates—who made their way into this place not on merit, not on demonstrating their knowledge of how to run a business or how to make a contribution to an economy but, rather, they were just like marbles with numbers on them coming out the end of a garden hose. 'Who's next?' they say when a vacancy comes up.

Honestly, if you put your hand in your pocket and found a 10-pound note you would have someone else's pants on because you have devoted your life, you have created a skills base, where you wait for real people to develop economies and businesses. You stand there, almost at the gate of the factory, waiting to prey upon them. You do not want the employers to have any advantage. You represent a trade union movement that, quite corruptly, goes and gets commissions, most of it for the benefit of the trade union.