❓ Question about the Premier's responsibility for industrial action at Fremantle Port. The Premier deflects, accusing the opposition of inconsistent views on unions.
AnsweredQoN 529Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
INDUSTRIAL
ACTION — FREMANTLE PORT
529. Mr P.J. RUNDLE to the Premier:
I have a supplementary question. The union said that it is
waiting for the state government to get its head out of the sand and ensure
that this critical group is properly recognised for their work.
What responsibility does the Premier and his government have
for this breakdown in relations and strike action?
ACTION — FREMANTLE PORT
529. Mr P.J. RUNDLE to the Premier:
I have a supplementary question. The union said that it is
waiting for the state government to get its head out of the sand and ensure
that this critical group is properly recognised for their work.
What responsibility does the Premier and his government have
for this breakdown in relations and strike action?
AnswerView source ↗
I am not worried about any breakdown in relations; I am
worried about the breakdown of logic from those opposite. Yesterday, members
opposite argued about unions having too much control and unions being out of
control and making too many demands. Today they are saying that the union
should be listened to. There is no winning with this crew, right? They are all
over the shop. Not a single coherent thought comes from those opposite. I understand
that there are not many of them, but I would have thought that the six who are
assembled today would be able to at least combine to form some sort of logical,
coherent argument. But from one day to the next, they flip and they flop.
Yesterday we had the Leader of the Liberal Party complaining about the
Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, which is a union that she
previously lauded for its role in helping to eliminate sexual harassment in the
mining industry.
Ms L. Mettam : That's rubbish. No, I didn't.
Ms R. Saffioti : Yes, you did. You come in here all the
time with their lines.
The SPEAKER : Order, please, Deputy Premier.
Mr R.H. COOK : I will take the interjection from the
Leader of the Liberal Party because yesterday she made it very clear that there
were criminal links in the CFMEU. The Leader of the Liberal Party reported
those links into this place as part of her preamble to questions as if they
were fact. She said that the union movement was full of criminal elements, and
the CFMEU in particular. Some time back, the Leader of the Liberal Party was a chair
of a parliamentary committee that credited the union movement—the CFMEU
in particular—for exposing sexual harassment
in the mining industry. As chair of the parliamentary committee, she said that
unions and the CFMEU —
Ms L. Mettam interjected.
Mr R.H. COOK : Member, the CFMEU was your star witness
in that inquiry. You relied upon its testimony as part of that committee's work. That member's committee
specifically recommended that the industry and government work with the
unions to make the mining industry a safer place. Further to that, the chair of
the committee credited the unions for
bringing the issues forward. The member for Vasse, as the chair of that
committee, also described how unions can play a role in carrying out
complaints. In fact, she said that unions have a terrific role to play to
represent people in the workplace, so I assume that —
Ms L. Mettam : In the mining industry.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Several members interjected.
Mr R.S. Love : I have a point of order.
The SPEAKER : Sorry, Premier, sit down. I will take the
point of order in silence.
Point of Order
Mr R.S. LOVE : The member for
Roe asked a question about strike action at the Fremantle port. I ask that this
answer be brought back to relevance.
Ms H.M. Beazley interjected.
The SPEAKER : Sorry. I do not
need advice from anyone else, thanks.
The issue was an interjection from
the Leader of the Liberal Party that the Premier responded to. But I am
cognisant of the question asked by the
member for Roe, and I will ask that the Premier return to the question that he
was asked.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr R.H. COOK : All I was
making was an observation—responding to a rude interjection from the
member for Vasse—that one day she is
for unions and the next day she is against them. Yesterday unions were a criminal
element ; some months earlier they were important to protect women in the
workplace. We agree with the member's earlier assessment. Unions are
important to represent women in the workplace.
Ms L. Mettam interjected.
The SPEAKER : Sorry, Premier.
I am going to ask that the Leader of the Liberal Party not to continue to
interject, and I will ask the Premier, once
again, to return to answering the member for Roe and not addressing the Leader
of the Liberal Party.
Mr R.H. COOK : We will
continue to work with the union in relation to its public sector enterprise
bargaining arrangements. These are important
arrangements. It is important that those negotiations can take place and be
fulfilled . We made a very good offer to that union. As I said, it was
within the same parameters as what the teachers were offered, and they accepted that offer. I would encourage this union to
do the same, but it has its rights to take industrial action as part of
this bargaining process and I very much look forward to it concluding as soon
as possible.
worried about the breakdown of logic from those opposite. Yesterday, members
opposite argued about unions having too much control and unions being out of
control and making too many demands. Today they are saying that the union
should be listened to. There is no winning with this crew, right? They are all
over the shop. Not a single coherent thought comes from those opposite. I understand
that there are not many of them, but I would have thought that the six who are
assembled today would be able to at least combine to form some sort of logical,
coherent argument. But from one day to the next, they flip and they flop.
Yesterday we had the Leader of the Liberal Party complaining about the
Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, which is a union that she
previously lauded for its role in helping to eliminate sexual harassment in the
mining industry.
Ms L. Mettam : That's rubbish. No, I didn't.
Ms R. Saffioti : Yes, you did. You come in here all the
time with their lines.
The SPEAKER : Order, please, Deputy Premier.
Mr R.H. COOK : I will take the interjection from the
Leader of the Liberal Party because yesterday she made it very clear that there
were criminal links in the CFMEU. The Leader of the Liberal Party reported
those links into this place as part of her preamble to questions as if they
were fact. She said that the union movement was full of criminal elements, and
the CFMEU in particular. Some time back, the Leader of the Liberal Party was a chair
of a parliamentary committee that credited the union movement—the CFMEU
in particular—for exposing sexual harassment
in the mining industry. As chair of the parliamentary committee, she said that
unions and the CFMEU —
Ms L. Mettam interjected.
Mr R.H. COOK : Member, the CFMEU was your star witness
in that inquiry. You relied upon its testimony as part of that committee's work. That member's committee
specifically recommended that the industry and government work with the
unions to make the mining industry a safer place. Further to that, the chair of
the committee credited the unions for
bringing the issues forward. The member for Vasse, as the chair of that
committee, also described how unions can play a role in carrying out
complaints. In fact, she said that unions have a terrific role to play to
represent people in the workplace, so I assume that —
Ms L. Mettam : In the mining industry.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Several members interjected.
Mr R.S. Love : I have a point of order.
The SPEAKER : Sorry, Premier, sit down. I will take the
point of order in silence.
Point of Order
Mr R.S. LOVE : The member for
Roe asked a question about strike action at the Fremantle port. I ask that this
answer be brought back to relevance.
Ms H.M. Beazley interjected.
The SPEAKER : Sorry. I do not
need advice from anyone else, thanks.
The issue was an interjection from
the Leader of the Liberal Party that the Premier responded to. But I am
cognisant of the question asked by the
member for Roe, and I will ask that the Premier return to the question that he
was asked.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Mr R.H. COOK : All I was
making was an observation—responding to a rude interjection from the
member for Vasse—that one day she is
for unions and the next day she is against them. Yesterday unions were a criminal
element ; some months earlier they were important to protect women in the
workplace. We agree with the member's earlier assessment. Unions are
important to represent women in the workplace.
Ms L. Mettam interjected.
The SPEAKER : Sorry, Premier.
I am going to ask that the Leader of the Liberal Party not to continue to
interject, and I will ask the Premier, once
again, to return to answering the member for Roe and not addressing the Leader
of the Liberal Party.
Mr R.H. COOK : We will
continue to work with the union in relation to its public sector enterprise
bargaining arrangements. These are important
arrangements. It is important that those negotiations can take place and be
fulfilled . We made a very good offer to that union. As I said, it was
within the same parameters as what the teachers were offered, and they accepted that offer. I would encourage this union to
do the same, but it has its rights to take industrial action as part of
this bargaining process and I very much look forward to it concluding as soon
as possible.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.