Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

This is a minister, in Minister Cash, who failed to act on employers ripping off workers. We have Senator Hanson in here defending a minister who fails to defend workers getting ripped off. What is this about? We know what it's about. Senator Hanson is nothing more than a right-wing Liberal. That's what she is. She's a right-wing Liberal. I don't often say this, but at least John Howard had the courage and conviction to throw her out of the party for her disgraceful conduct. Now we've got other former prime ministers like Tony Abbott cuddling up to her. What a disgrace this party is. The coalition have just lost the plot—absolutely lost the plot.

Minister Cash comes in here and defends wage theft, does nothing about workers getting their superannuation ripped off and does nothing about apprentices getting ripped off. There have been two reports from the Fair Work Ombudsman about apprentices getting ripped off—not a word said.

Yet what we get from Senator Hanson is a dirty deal with the coalition to give massive wage cuts to the Business Council of Australia in return for a thousand apprentices. I've never heard Senator Hanson mention apprentices in this place since she's been here. I've never heard Senator Hanson or any One Nation member come to an estimates committee and ask about the welfare of apprentices. They've never cared about apprentices, yet, when it suits them, they'll do a dirty deal with the government to try and cover up their capitulation to the government, to hand over $65 billion to big business.

Coming back to Senator Cash: Senator Cash should have a good look at herself. She is a minister who has misled this place on five occasions, thrown her staff under the bus to protect her own position and refused to deal with the issues for working people in this country when she was the minister for industrial relations. She has refused to act honourably in her position in this place. She is an absolute disgrace. She should resign. She should talk to the Federal Police, tell the Federal Police exactly what happened and save the Federal Police the investigation that they are undertaking, save the public money and do the right thing. Senator Cash should resign. She can hide behind public interest immunity all she likes, but she will be found out, because her position is untenable. She is a disgrace of a minister. She has misled this place at least five times. She should just fess up. (Time expired)