Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says he doubts the government can work effectively with new ACTU boss Sally McManus after her comments that union members should break "unjust laws".
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The Coalition launched into its second day of attacks on ACTU leader Sally McManus, led by Mr Turnbull and echoed by Peter Dutton, who labelled Ms McManus a "lunatic".
Ms McManus created a firestorm on her second day on the job, when she told ABC's 7.30 on Wednesday that she believed in the rule of law "where the law's fair, where the law's right, but when it's unjust, I don't think there's a problem with breaking it".
The comment sparked an immediate response from the Coalition, which seized on it as evidence for the necessity of its controversial ABCC laws, the stalling of which in the last parliament acted as the trigger for Mr Turnbull to call a double dissolution election.
Speaking on Friday, Mr Turnbull said Ms McManus's comments were from " a union leader who said the unions are above the law".
"She believes that you only have to have to obey the law, or unions only have to obey the law, if they agree with it," he told radio 3AW.
"So on that basis, if people thought taxes were too high, they wouldn't have to pay their tax or if they thought the speed limit was too low, they could speed with impunity.
"What she has done is defied the whole rule of law and this is the culture of thuggery and lawlessness that the CFMEU, of course is the great example of, and this is the culture of the union movement, it is the culture of the Labor party in 2017.
"These are the people, these are the values or lack of values that is driving Bill Shorten – so he doesn't care about the truth and he doesn't believe in the law."
He went on to question whether the government could work with Ms McManus.
"If she doesn't believe in obeying the law, if she believes the law only applies when it suits her, then I don't think we have a lot in common in terms of values," he said.
"This is a nation governed by the rule of law and if she thinks if she and her unions are above the law then there is not much work we can do with her, I am afraid."
At almost the same time, Mr Dutton launched into aseparate attack on radio 2GB.
"The ACTU has ended up with this lunatic running the ACTU, taking them further to the left, and Bill Shorten has nothing to say about it," he said.
"Now Bill Shorten wants to be prime minister of this country, but he's demonstrating like Daniel Andrews has in Victoria and Annastacia Palaszczuk has in Queensland, that the Labor Party today is not the great Labor Party of the 60s or 70s or 80s.
"It is completely beholden to the union movement and many of these people are the same people involved in GetUp!, the same people involved in the CFMEU, the same people involved on building sites and extorting money out of people.
"It's unacceptable and it needs to be called out and we're right to call it out."
Labor leader Bill Shorten distanced himself from Ms McManus's comments almost as soon as she made them, saying he did not agree with her. Key Labor figures followed suit throughout Thursday, but Mr Dutton said these were "some mealy-mouthed words".
Unionists and their supporters have come out in support of Ms McManus, who did not back away from her comments and, on Thursday, released a statement which said Australia had been built by people "who have had the courage to stand up to unfair and unjust rules and demand something better".
"Every single Australian benefits from superannuation, Medicare, the weekend and minimum wages —these were all won by our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents taking non-violent so-called illegal industrial action," she said.
"Working people only take these measures when the issue is one of justice, like ensuring workers' safety on worksites, a fair day's pay for a fair day's work or to uphold and improve rights for working people."
Ms McManus said unions were committed to changing workplace laws and would do so "through advocating changes to the laws and rules that govern the workplace".
