Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

Coming from a Green, indeed!—have you ever heard such a thing? When the commission was abolished it led to a huge outcry, particularly in the Riverina and in a lot of other country communities. The Howard government created the commission in typical Howard government style. It was methodical, it was well considered, and it was implemented on the basis of evidence and the need for such a watchdog. Eight years later, the need for an organisation such as this commission remains. The building industry is a good one, and it is a productive one, and that is what we want. We heard the member for Fisher talk about the fact that this bill is all about fairness and all about productivity. I absolutely concur with the member for Fisher.

The building industry is a good one, and it needs to be helped and enhanced. We need to do whatever we can to assist it along the way. This bill will do just that. The overwhelming majority of builders, subcontractors and labourers work in the industry to build dream homes. It used to be every Australian's dream to own their own home—and that is just what the building industry provides. It needs to be given every assistance to do just that. Builders do their very best to ensure that clients are happy with their finished product, but builders need to be able to do that in an environment which assists them, not an environment which is clogging them down with union thuggery. In order to ensure balance and the best outcome for all involved, the commission is necessary to oversee building and construction independently—and I will use that word again, independently—with a genuine strength to act when things do not go according to plan.

Peter and Debbie Hurst, constituents of mine from Wagga Wagga and fine people too, run a house-and-land package building company in my home city. It is a family business, owned and successfully run by Peter and Debbie, husband and wife, with the best interests of their community and their customers in mind. They are typical of many family-run businesses in regional areas. They have been in business since 1990, and their construction work in Wagga Wagga and surrounds employs up to 100 subcontractors at any point in time—

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