Cory Bernardi (SA, Australian Conservatives) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Williams makes a good point: it is about fairness but not in the sense of social justice, equality, or anything like that. It is about fairness where you know that, if you can source a product, you can sell it at a reasonable price or at a fair price, but you also know that your competitor across the road is not able to pay $3 or $4 less an hour because of some cosy sweetheart deal that's taken place. These are the questions that often go through the minds of people who believe in something. We've got to balance the ideal scenario against what we can achieve.

I don't want the perfect to be enemy of the good. I think, in the end, that the good—and what is most important and what is so important for this country—is for small business to have that fair go and to have that opportunity to grow into medium-sized businesses. I have no horse in this race apart from that. There is no-one that's going to be paying their employees to man my polling booths for me. There are no lobbyists that are making massive donations to my political campaign or to my union. The only interest I have is in the mums and dads of Australia, so that they can have a business they want to make a go of and make a success, because their success is our success.