STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS

Mr TAYLOR (Hume—Leader of the Opposition) (13:57): Over and over, again and again, the Australian people see the same pattern—the CFMEU engulfed by corruption, kickbacks, organised crime, intimidation, violence and mistreatment of women. It is a culture summed up in two chilling words—'everybody eats'—except that's not right. It's the Australian taxpayer who pays the bill, and Labor keeps protecting the CFMEU.

Last night, the Prime Minister was asked about organised crime and corruption in the Victorian government's Big Build projects. He said he had no tolerance for it and he has taken the strongest possible action against it. Surprise, surprise—another perversion of the truth!

The government's aware of at least four allegations of corruption on the Suburban Rail Loop. So what did it do—seek assurances that taxpayers' money wouldn't be misused? Of course not.

The Prime Minister gave the project another $3.8 billion in the budget. And, today, in the parliament, they're doing it again, handing unions control over taxpayers' money, writing corruption into law. Labor's protecting its mates in the CFMEU from scrutiny.

Labor's giving a green light to organised crime, to rackets, to rorts, to rip-offs, in the CFMEU. It's time to get organised crime out of our construction sites. Every Australian knows it.

The only people pretending otherwise are those opposite.