{"id":118028,"date":"2015-08-20T14:38:30","date_gmt":"2015-08-20T04:38:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=118028"},"modified":"2020-11-18T15:43:00","modified_gmt":"2020-11-18T05:43:00","slug":"mp-challenges-labor-over-fta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2015\/08\/20\/mp-challenges-labor-over-fta\/","title":{"rendered":"MP Challenges Labor Over FTA"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Ken
Member for Flynn Ken O’Dowd<\/figcaption><\/figure> August 20, 2015<\/strong><\/p>\n

Federal Member for Flynn Ken O\u2019Dowd said on Thursday morning he had heard a lot of noise about the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, but one voice he hadn\u2019t heard from was the Labor Party.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe unions have been blowing a lot of hot air about the Free Trade Agreement, and you would assume they have the support of the Labor Party, but they\u2019ve stayed silent,\u201d Mr O\u2019Dowd said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they support the unions in attacking a landmark deal that will have wide-ranging benefits to the broader community, then they should clearly state their policy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr O\u2019Dowd challenged his Labor opponents to come forward with a serious position on the agreement, or risk looking like they were hiding from the debate.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll I am hearing from the Labor Party is silence, and it is deafening,\u201d Mr O\u2019Dowd said.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/strong><\/h3>\n

UPDATE: Mr O’Dowd’s request seems to have been answered with the Labor Party being quizzed by Government MPs during Question Time in Federal Parliament this afternoon.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prime Minister Tony Abbott told the Opposition to “stop spreading racist lies” while Federal Trade Minister Andrew Robb accused Opposition Members of repeating “racist” statements by “militant unions”, especially the CFMEU and ETU.<\/p>\n

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