E&OE...
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The charade of Labor's zero tolerance to union misconduct will be exposed this week when Kevin Rudd goes to Tasmania. Earlier this year the Labor leader touted a get-tough approach to union misbehaviour when the Dean Mighell affair became public. But since then he's simply turned a blind eye and this week instead of punishing bad behaviour by union officials, Mr Rudd will be supporting it.
During his visit to Tasmania Mr Rudd will be campaigning for Kevin Harkins, a senior Electrical Trades Union official running for the Labor Party in Tasmania. This is despite the fact that Mr Harkins faces charges over alleged illegal strikes and will appear in court shortly. He's even been condemned by the sitting Labor member he's replacing. Mr Rudd refuses to invoke the so-called zero-tolerance policy, notably after threats from Mr Mighell.
Mr Rudd wants to be the next prime minister of Australia, yet he's not tough enough to respond to calls for action against unsuitable members of his own Party. It is clear that Mr Rudd cannot determine nor control who joins his Party, even those facing court, because he will not stand up to the unions.
The unions control pre-selections, they provide the election campaign funding and they determine the union-friendly policies. This is one of the great threats of a Rudd-union government. While union members make up just 15 per cent of the private sector workforce, 70 per cent of Mr Rudd's frontbench are former trade union officials. This lack of balance is a worry for the Australia public and will be a key consideration later in the year when voters go to the polls. There will be a choice between continuing our economic prosperity or handing over government to the union-controlled Labor Party. Warning signs about the influence of unions under a Rudd-union government demonstrate that Labor cannot hope to offer the Australian people a better and brighter future. Only the Coalition can provide a good government for all Australians.
Listen to this Speech (MP3 - 1.91Mb - 127secs)