PRIME MINISTER: Well, welcome colleagues, great to be here with you all. Here with my colleagues Barnaby and Julie and Fiona, leaders of our Party.
As the parliamentary year comes to a close we remember the message we took to the election of delivering on our National Economic Plan to drive the jobs, the good jobs, the better jobs and the strong economic growth for all Australians. And we said we would make the 45th Parliament work and we said that we would deliver - and we are delivering. Thanks to your hard work, thanks to working with the crossbenchers in the House and above all, in the Senate. We are delivering.
Now, in terms of our legislative agenda, look at what we have achieved so far. Over $20 billion of gross budget savings achieved through the Senate, through the Parliament - measures that we could not get agreement to prior to the election.
Look at what we have done in terms of reforming our superannuation system. They're more sustainable - a fairer superannuation system passed through the Parliament. We’ve delivered on that.
Look at the tax cuts we've delivered to hard working middle-income Australians, so they don't move into the second highest tax bracket. Look at what we've done there and think of the significance of our continued drive to support exports of goods, of services, promoting investment. Because we know that delivers the jobs and growth that Australians expect and deserve.
Building on the great export trade deals which we entered into in the last term, we've now entered into an expanded deal with Singapore - a great new deal with Singapore and which involves $2.25 billion of Singaporean investment in Central and North Queensland, driving jobs and growth there.
We took our stand to defend the owner-drivers, truck drivers, just before the last election. Remember how Bill Shorten's RSRT, that tribunal that he set up under the Gillard Government - What was it designed to do? It was designed to benefit a militant trade union, the Transport Workers Union. And it put those owner-drivers off the road and out of work. We were able to abolish that tribunal before the last election.
And then, another Labor Government, the Victorian Labor Government, decided to take on 60,000 volunteer firefighters.
[Shame]
The people who stand between nature's terror, stand between the infernos of summer and the lives and properties of Victorians and Australians right around the country, took that - they were going to subordinate them to yet another militant trade union.
We've amended the Fair Work Act. We've secured that they will be protected. We honoured our commitment to do that. And for years and years and years - we see it in the papers today with the new investigation into Cesar Melhem, the conduct – this was Bill Shorten's anointed successor remember, the AWU - his conduct, of course, which was described as corrupt in the Heydon Royal Commission is being investigated further today, and we’ve seen that in the paper. But remember how long we have fought to do what should be obvious, which is to ensure that trade union officials have to be as accountable to their members - for their money, for their members' money - as company directors are to their shareholders.
You would think the Labor Party would sign up to that in a flash given all the scandals that they've witnessed. But they opposed it tooth and nail. Because Bill Shorten, this master of distortion, this master of falsehoods. A man who when he says something that is accurate, it is only a coincidence. If he finds accuracy suits his purposes, he will use it. But it is an absolutely coincidental accompaniment of any of his remarks.
We have been able to secure the passage of the Registered Organisations Bill. That Bill was defeated by the Senate in the last Parliament three times - and we got it through this Parliament. Now there’s lots more to do, we have plenty more to do. This week, led by Michaelia Cash, who is, and the whole Senate team, who are working so well with the crossbench. They are now working to secure the passage of the second of the two bills we took as part of our double dissolution agenda, the restoration of the Australian Building and Construction Commission.
This sector, which employs over a million Australians, its integrity, its efficiency, its lawfulness, is absolutely critical to our economy. It underpins all of the infrastructure on which we are delivering. All of the roads, all of the rail, right across the country. The infrastructure that Australians need depends upon a law-abiding construction sector, because if we are not able to restore the rule of law, Australians will continue to be paying 30 per cent and more for infrastructure, homeowners will be paying 30 per cent and more for apartments, all because a militant union is able to get away with defying the law.
So, this week we are working hard, all of us, to ensure that we get the support of the crossbench for the restoration of the ABCC. This is a great Coalition agenda. Standing up for the members of unions, standing up for the subbies, standing up for the homeowners, standing up for the tax payers. But above all - standing up for the rule of law right across Australia. That's our commitment this week.
Now, when we wrap up the Parliament this week for the summer vacation, for the Christmas vacation, all of us will be able to go back to our electorates and say; we came to you in the election with an economic plan. We laid it out. We sought your support and you returned us to government and we are delivering.
We are getting the runs on the board. We are defying the critics.
We are delivering, the 45th Parliament is working, the Government is governing, the Government is leading, the Government is delivering on its promises. Thank you very much.