Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash
Shadow Attorney-General
Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations
Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
Senator for Western Australia
TRANSCRIPT
Sky News – The Kenny Report
14 August 2024
TOPICS: CFMEU legislation, Gaza visas
E&OE
Chris Kenny
Let’s go to Canberra again and catch up with the Shadow Workplace Relations Minister, Michaelia Cash. Thanks for joining us Michaelia – you’re trying to wrestle with this CFMEU legislation. Labor wants it through. It’s battling with the Greens as well as the Coalition. You’ve put up some changes today that you would say make the bill better from the Coalition’s point of view. One of those is to ensure that the CFMEU is put under an administrator for a full three years.
Senator Cash
It’s going to take a long time to clean up Labor’s mess, Chris. And let’s remember this is a mess of Labor’s own making, and they are misleading the Australian people to say that the legislation in its current form will clean up the CFMEU. Chris, the legislation is there for all to see. You could drive a truck through it. In fact, I honestly thought it was drafted by the CFMEU for the CFMEU. So I have made it very clear, there are 20 amendments that I have worked through with stakeholders that if the government is prepared to accept and implement all of those amendments, we can move this matter forward. So this is now a test for Prime Minister Albanese. Is he dinkum about cleaning up the mess his government created? Or are we just going to get more weasel words? The ball is now in Mr. Albanese’s court. There are 20 amendments, he needs to instruct his Minister – accept the amendments, draft them, pass them through the Parliament, and then we can move forward.
Chris Kenny
Yeah well, Labor’s certainly either got to do that or give good reason as to what’s wrong with the amendment. So we’ll follow that.
Senator Cash
But these are reasonable amendments, and if the Labor Party is not prepared to accept why there should be a ban on political donations, why there should not be an auditor appointed to follow the money, why there should not be a fit and proper person test, why the administration should not be for a minimum period of time. We’re talking about cleaning up organised crime, then it is for Mr. Albanese as Prime Minister to justify that to the Australian people.
Chris Kenny
I’ve got to quickly get your thoughts on another issue. We’ve talked a lot about what Peter Dutton has said when it comes to refugees from Gaza, not risking that in this country for now. Predictably, all sorts of allegations have been leveled against him now, including racism and dog whistling. These are the sorts of accusations being made now Michaelia Cash. Why is this a fair and reasonable position?
Senator Cash
Because Hamas is a listed terrorist organization. They have committed an atrocity, the last of which we had seen in the Holocaust. You don’t have to like Peter Dutton, but my God, you know what Peter Dutton stands for. He will always put Australia and Australians first. And if that means saying there needs to be a pause on people coming in from Gaza, Palestinian people coming in from Gaza – if there needs to be a pause until the security situation stabilises and we can be guaranteed that the appropriate checks are being undertaken – well then I’m backing Peter Dutton every step of the way. And shame on our Prime Minister for not being able to stand up and tell the Australian people that there will be no Hamas supporters coming to this country under Labor. You don’t get to play with national security Chris.
Chris Kenny
Hell of a mess.
Senator Cash
A total mess. But again, a mess of the Prime Minister’s creation.
Chris Kenny
Thanks for joining us Senator. I appreciate it. Michaelia Cash there, live from Canberra.
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