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Corruption is at its worst when it becomes institutionalized as ‘acceptable’ even ‘required’ business behaviour. It’s at its worst when corruption has political patronage and cover.

• We'd call the shoppies’ union doing a deal with Coles to underpay workers ‘corrupt’.
• We'd call the transport giant Toll’s paying the Transport Workers Union to get the TWU to harass Toll’s competitors ‘corrupt’.

Yet these ‘deals’ had political ‘cover’ under industrial relations arrangements. We made a submission on this to the Heydon Royal Commission into corruption. The Commission recommended important new anti-corruption laws.

Yes, last week we had a ‘whack’ at dysfunctional government. But credit to people who achieve results.

Late last week the Employment Minister, Michaelia Cash, guided through the Senate new laws to stop corrupt payments from businesses to unions. And credit to the Senate Independent parties who supported these anti-corruption laws. This is the same Senate that supported Cash’s Construction Code in February which is another anti-corruption measure.

But Shorten’s Labor Party opposed these anti-corruption measures. This is the Labor Party seeking to entrench political ‘cover’ for corruption. Labor’s stance on this is entirely unacceptable. It damages democracy and destroys fairness in society.

Labor is faced with another test on its political cover for corruption. This is the proposed law to require dominant big businesses to act responsibly in not harming competition. The Misuse of Market Power Bill (generally called the ‘effects test’) is before the Senate. This is our submission to the Senate inquiry.

Shorten’s Labor opposes this. Why? Why would Labor oppose requiring big business to act responsibly? We can see only one explanation as follows:

• The shoppies’ union is in bed commercially with Coles and other big retailers to underpay workers.
• Big retailers pay big bucks to the shoppies’ union.
• The shoppies’ union pays big bucks to the Labor Party.
• The big retailers oppose the ‘effects test’ Bill (that is, the Misuse of Market Power Bill).
• Shorten’s Labor Party is doing the bidding of big business.

That’s it! Follow the money! If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it probably is a duck. If it looks corrupt, smells corrupt, it probably is corrupt.

If Bill Shorten wishes to be Prime Minister, he has got to stop giving political cover to corruption. The Misuse of Market Power Bill is listed for debate in the Senate this week.