Josh Dolega (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

May I note that this is not my first speech. I hear those opposite talk about the CFMEU, but let's be really clear: this is just another attack on working people. It's an attack on working people, their conditions, their wages and their wellbeing. Union members built this country. There's no doubt about it. Union members are not embroiled in corruption, like some of the things we've seen in the media. I think Senator Wong addressed it really well, in saying that we couldn't have taken any stronger action to place the CFMEU into administration and that corruption has no place in unions or workplaces. But most union members are workers in a workplace. They are decent, good people, and this is just another attack on union members.

Building homes and helping Australians get into homes is one of this government's absolute highest priorities. Those opposite, and Senator Bragg, have no credibility on housing, having cut housing investment while they were in government and having opposed every housing investment made by Labor. Those opposite delayed houses being built by up to two years, which is an absolute disgrace. The only answer that the coalition has to the housing shortage is to cut wages and have workers working for cents in the dollar, which is not the Australian way. The fact is that wages have not been driving up the cost of housing; wages have been growing more slowly than other costs in construction. For 10 years the LNP complained about the CFMEU but did nothing to clean it up. It's been this government that put the CFMEU into administration and has been supporting the union to clean itself up and to be able to represent its members.

More broadly, when it comes to unions, let's not forget that unions have created some of the safest workplaces in Australia. Trade unions are there to support their members and other workers in their workplaces, which is something that's often forgotten or that some people might even take for granted. Health and safety is absolutely paramount in workplaces, and it's core union business. I, and this side of the chamber, stand with working people to have safer workplaces. We won't stand for attacks on that.

When it comes to housing, might I add that this government has an ambitious housing agenda. We took plans to the last election to have further shared equity schemes and five per cent deposits for first home buyers, which is a game changer. We talk about the great Australian dream. Well, the great Australian dream is to own your own house, but it's also to go to work to earn a fair wage for a fair day's work. It's to participate in collective organising when you want to. We want workers to have their fair share of power in their workplaces, and their trade unions will help them do that. So it's really hard to sit over here and hear those opposite attack working people and union members. It's something that we don't stand for. First home buyers have been struggling to get into the market. There's no secret about that. We absolutely want to see more people get into more homes. We want to see the supply shortage filled, and we want to see more homes built as quickly as possible. Labor's policies support homes to be built.

I might talk quickly about beef imports. I come from a family that has a small farm. My brother is a beef cattle farmer. Australian beef is the best beef in the world. I absolutely love a good steak—a good Australian steak and a good Tasmanian steak. As Senator Ciccone said before, when we came into government we took steps to repair the Public Service after a decade of cuts and degradation, and our biosecurity laws will not be compromised.