Page 4898 - Week 13 - Thursday, 2 November 2017
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facilitating a positive urban renewal and community support outcome in Canberra’s north.
As I have noted, Canberra is booming. As I outlined earlier, I am proud to serve in this government and to serve our Chief Minister, Andrew Barr. I am proud of our track record and resolute in our commitment to continue delivering for all Canberrans.
MR HANSON (Murrumbidgee) (11.37): I welcome this motion because it shines a light on what is going on with this government and in this town. Those opposite have sought to turn this into a public policy debate. They are talking about issues like abortion and tourism, equity, international flights and tax reform. Let us be very clear what this is about today, and that is what lurks beneath: power, money and corruption.
It is a money-go-round. It is public money—through sweetheart deals, land deals and pokie money—which goes to the Labor Party and the CFMEU and is then recycled back into the pockets of Labor and Greens parties politicians through political donations. It is not just the Canberra Liberals saying this. I will turn to that shortly. I will give just one example. Mr Coe has outlined the evidence very well. This is one example where the CFMEU get $4 million in their pocket and are then allowed to stay in a property for $1 a year.
Let us put that in context with community standards. The Woden Valley RSL has just moved into a small part of the old school in Holder. They are paying $40,000 a year. Across this town there are many community organisations, charities, members of our community that have to rattle a tin on the weekend to raise money. Each of them is paying tens of thousands of dollars a year. But this mob and their mates pay a dollar. I repeat: they pay a dollar.
These sweetheart deals are achieved through the power of the grip that the factions and the CFMEU have on pre-selections. All of you across there know it. You are the beneficiaries of it. You can smile at me, Mr Pettersson—you know it more than most.
It is not just the Canberra Liberals saying this. I refer to what Kevin Rudd, the former Labor Prime Minister, said. He said that the Labor Party should “sever ties with the CFMEU, given the evidence of corruption, bullying and law breaking”. Bob Hawke, a well-respected former unionist and Prime Minister of this country, said, “It is just appalling. I wouldn’t tolerate it.” Judges have said that the CFMEU “had contempt for the law” and were trying to “usurp parliament”. We see the usurping of parliament here through the actions of the CFMEU aligned with Labor Party members in this place.
Let me turn to former Chief Minister—the longest serving Chief Minister of this territory—Mr Jon Stanhope, who had been crusading for reform to what he sees clearly as corruption. He talked about the power of the unions on the party. He said that it has “corrupted the party”. That is a quote from Jon Stanhope: “corrupted the party”. He talked about rorting.
Again I quote Jon Stanhope who, when talking about the Labor Party in an article, said, “… has seen it become the plaything of a handful of union-based factional
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