ACTU calls for probe into Christian Porter

Sally McManus wants an independent probe into allegations against Christian Porter, and says he should step down during it.

ACTU secretary Sally McManus. Picture: AAP

ACTU secretary Sally McManus has called for an independent investigation into the allegations against Christian Porter, and said he should step down during the probe.

Given Mr Porter has taken a period of leave, Ms McManus also urged the government to withdraw its industrial relations bill from the Senate.

She said an independent investigation was “the only way we can bring these allegations to a resolution”.

“Our job is to advocate on behalf of working people and that means dealing with the Minister for Industrial Relations, whoever that might be,” she said on Thursday. “We don’t get to choose who the minister is, and while any investigation is occurring it would be proper for the person to step aside. This happens all the time to workers when under investi­gation where they are stood down on full pay until an investigation is concluded.”

After denying rape alle­gations against him, Mr Porter has taken a short period of leave. During his absence, Michaelia Cash is acting as Attorney-General and Industrial Relations Minister.

A Senate inquiry into the industrial relations bill is due to report on March 12 and the government had intended to bring on the bill for debate in the Senate the following week.

Ms McManus said the government should withdraw the proposed legislation.

“The whole carriage of it has been Christian Porter,” she said.

“He’s the one who knows it inside out, back to front, he has done all the work on it.

“It seems improbable to think that anyone could just pick that up and pursue it.

“I think the right thing to do in these circumstances is for the government to say, ‘OK, we are not going to go forward with it’.”

Government sources said on Tuesday the plan was to stick with the proposed timetable for the bill.

Ms McManus said she would reach out to Senator Cash “in good faith” and hoped the minister would see it was not in the country’s best interests for the bill to go forward.

Ms McManus and Mr Porter had a co-operative relationship for many months in 2020 after unions offered to work with the government and employers as the nation faced health and economic shockwaves from the corona­virus pandemic.

“It was at the height of the pandemic really and it was an emergency for the whole of the country,” she said on Thursday.

“It was an unusual thing for the government to stop attacking the union movement every day and take up our offer to work together with employers.

“I describe the relationship as practical. We dealt with the day-to-day crisis that was happening, everything from what’s shutting down, how would JobKeeper work, all of those things.”

Key Senate crossbencher Rex Patrick says business has not made out the case for the ­Coalition’s industrial relations bill, expressing concern workers will not be able to properly scrutinise enterprise agreements and employers will have too much power to reject requests by casuals to be made permanent.

Senator Patrick took the lead during crossbench negotiations with the government over the failed Ensuring Integrity Bill, but said he would not engage on the latest industrial relations changes unless the Coalition locked in two of the three crossbench votes it needed to get the proposed laws passed.

The Coalition had been expected to try to initially secure the support of One Nation’s Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts. If successful, the government would ­require the backing of one of three remaining crossbenchers: senators Patrick, Stirling Griff or Jacqui Lambie.