Animated snipe at Shorten as Cash lays down law to MUA

Michaelia Cash has seized on the MUA’s Portland blockade to strengthen the case for getting tough on unions.

Employment Minister Michaelia Cash has seized on the militant maritime union’s two-month blockade of the MV Portland in southwest Victoria to strengthen the case for tougher measures to improve union governance.

Writing in The Australian today, Senator Cash accuses the Maritime Union of Australia of unlawful conduct for flouting the orders of the Federal Court and industrial umpire during the 60 day stand-off with Alcoa over coastal shipping rules.

She has also used the dispute to turn up the political heat on Bill Shorten, arguing that he is impotent to address unlawful industrial action by the unions and likening him to Waylon Smithers — the subservient assistant of nuclear power plant owner Montgomery Burns in TV show The Simpsons.

“The MUA’s action in keeping the ship in port held the local Portland berth to ransom, putting at risk the arrival of thousands of tourists on cruise ships which needed to dock at the small port,” Senator Cash writes.

“It is deeply concerning that in a society supposedly governed by the rule of law, we still have elements in unions such as the MUA, who believe they are above the law and can ignore the law with impunity.”

“When this is the case, the law clearly needs to be strengthened.”

The comments come only days after the union picketed Senator Cash’s Perth office, with the MUA saying she had “questions to answer” over the removal of MUA crew from the ship in a midnight raid by Alcoa last week.

The dispute ended when Alcoa forcibly removed five MUA members from the MV Portland and replaced them with foreign workers — a move that freed the vessel to sail for Singapore, where it is to be sold by the end of this month.