❓ Mettam questions the Premier about the Labor Party's acceptance of donations from the CFMEU, given alleged organised crime links. The Premier deflects, questioning Liberal Party donations.
AnsweredQoN 469Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY,
MINING AND ENERGY UNION (WA) — CONDUCT
The SPEAKER : I call the
Leader of the Liberal Party with the last question.
469. Ms L. METTAM to the Premier:
I
refer to comments by Hon Matthew
Swinbourn in the other place in which he stated that the fact that some members of unions might also be members of outlaw motorcycle gangs is not a revelation.
If members of the Labor Party openly admit that organised crime exists within
the CFMEU, why does it continue to accept its donations and protect the union?
MINING AND ENERGY UNION (WA) — CONDUCT
The SPEAKER : I call the
Leader of the Liberal Party with the last question.
469. Ms L. METTAM to the Premier:
I
refer to comments by Hon Matthew
Swinbourn in the other place in which he stated that the fact that some members of unions might also be members of outlaw motorcycle gangs is not a revelation.
If members of the Labor Party openly admit that organised crime exists within
the CFMEU, why does it continue to accept its donations and protect the union?
AnswerView source ↗
The quote the member for Vasse used
did not support the argument she then proposed. I assume the member is
referring somewhat obliquely to her media comments, which said that somehow
there is a loophole in our bikie laws that allows for bikie activity inside
unions. Of course, that is a nonsense. If a union official wants to talk to
another union official about union business, of course that is fine. If a bikie
wants to talk to another bikie about bikie business, that is not okay! The law
is pretty straightforward. There is no reason why one union official cannot
talk to another union official about union matters. That is what we expect.
If the member has any evidence that
a member of any organisation in any employment context is undertaking illegal
bikie-related activity, she should come forward with it. That is the important
message today. I saw some of that behaviour on the east coast. It appalled me.
It disgusted me. The standover tactics that were demonstrated, particularly by
the individual involved in the Indigenous company, were appalling, but we need
to allow the facts to lie where they do. That is to say that if the member is
aware of illegal behaviour, she should come forward with that and refer it to
the authorities, as we do in any circumstance of a similar kind.
The member alludes to the issue of
donations to the political party and whether that is appropriate in this case.
I have a view, and I am sure the Minister for Health is of that view as well,
that accepting donations from big tobacco is not okay. Is the member going to
pay that back? I also have a view that the activities of someone like Clive
Palmer are absolutely appalling and reprehensible, yet he is a big donor to the
Liberal Party. Is it going to pay that money back? All of a sudden the noise in
the chamber has wound down to nought because the member knows that the Liberal
Party has a lot to answer for in terms of its behaviour in relation to Clive
Palmer. I want the Liberal Party to come forward with any allegations it has
and give those allegations to the appropriate authorities.
did not support the argument she then proposed. I assume the member is
referring somewhat obliquely to her media comments, which said that somehow
there is a loophole in our bikie laws that allows for bikie activity inside
unions. Of course, that is a nonsense. If a union official wants to talk to
another union official about union business, of course that is fine. If a bikie
wants to talk to another bikie about bikie business, that is not okay! The law
is pretty straightforward. There is no reason why one union official cannot
talk to another union official about union matters. That is what we expect.
If the member has any evidence that
a member of any organisation in any employment context is undertaking illegal
bikie-related activity, she should come forward with it. That is the important
message today. I saw some of that behaviour on the east coast. It appalled me.
It disgusted me. The standover tactics that were demonstrated, particularly by
the individual involved in the Indigenous company, were appalling, but we need
to allow the facts to lie where they do. That is to say that if the member is
aware of illegal behaviour, she should come forward with that and refer it to
the authorities, as we do in any circumstance of a similar kind.
The member alludes to the issue of
donations to the political party and whether that is appropriate in this case.
I have a view, and I am sure the Minister for Health is of that view as well,
that accepting donations from big tobacco is not okay. Is the member going to
pay that back? I also have a view that the activities of someone like Clive
Palmer are absolutely appalling and reprehensible, yet he is a big donor to the
Liberal Party. Is it going to pay that money back? All of a sudden the noise in
the chamber has wound down to nought because the member knows that the Liberal
Party has a lot to answer for in terms of its behaviour in relation to Clive
Palmer. I want the Liberal Party to come forward with any allegations it has
and give those allegations to the appropriate authorities.
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.