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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 13 Hansard (20 November) . . Page.. 3873 ..

MR CORNWELL (continuing):

occasions and I still stand by it. Therefore, any suggestion that I am really casting a vote for the Right to Life Association or extreme elements of the Roman Catholic Church is total nonsense. It is misleading and I would just like to set the record straight.

CFMEU

MS GALLAGHER (6.13): Earlier this week when browsing through the CFMEU journal, the Building Worker-which I have to say is an excellent read-I came across an article which I thought worthy of the Assembly's attention. Too often we hear negative comments about unions and perhaps this is because the positive stories go unnoticed.

On 10 April this year, one of Australia's young construction workers, a South Australian named Lee Alexander, died in a tragic workplace accident. Whilst this was a terrible event for Mr Alexander's young family, the CFMEU rallied to provide his family with assistance. The South Australian CFMEU launched a trust fund to look after Mr Alexander's young daughter, Madelyne.

The article in the journal reports that the ACT branch of the CFMEU raised over $10,000 for the Madelyne Alexander Trust: $3,000 was raised from building workers at building sites; the Tradesmen's club group donated $6,000; and organisers from the union offices here donated $1,000. This $10,000 is a sign of the generosity and solidarity of unionists in supporting a fallen comrade and his family.

The CFMEU has also made a significant donation to victims of Bali. The union donated $25,000 to enable the Red Cross to help the victims by providing essential medical services.

The CFMEU is under constant attack from federal governments. The CFMEU is also under attack from a royal commission, and it is costing the union a considerable amount of dollars to defend its name. However, the union should be congratulated for still giving so generously to those in need, and this contribution should be recognised.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

The Assembly adjourned at 6.15 pm.

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