Luke Hartsuyker (Cowper, National Party, Assistant Minister for Employment) Share this | Hansard source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Building and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Bill 2013 and the related bill. Before I commence my contribution, I would like to reflect on the words of the previous member. He talked about sham contracting and phoenixing, and so on and so forth. Those activities are currently illegal, and the Fair Work Ombudsman can investigate them and prosecute—so the member's argument falls flat. Also, members opposite seem transfixed by the idea that this legislation is absolutely and solely focused on the activities of unions. This legislation is more than that; it is about achieving proper conduct on building sites, whether that conduct is by unions or by employers—both sides of this contract, if you like, are covered by this legislation. This legislation will impact on improper conduct by employers. I would also like to say that the member opposite was casting reflections on the independence of Econtech. I would like to remind the member that the mining tax was modelled using Econtech; you should bear that in mind before casting aspersions on that particular company.

This bill is further evidence that the coalition government is getting on with the job of building a stronger economy so everyone can get ahead. We made a commitment to Australia that a coalition government would boost national productivity and competitiveness. To achieve this, the coalition will continue to work methodically and diligently to create an environment which will deliver strong economic growth and strong employment growth. It is strong employment growth that provides both social and economic benefits and that is why we are working to remove impediments to genuine employment growth. Productivity is the underlying driver of economic growth and higher standards of living. It is what underpins wealth creation and a better quality of life for all Australians. The past six years of deficit and decline have clearly highlighted that those opposite have little understanding of productivity. The coalition understands productivity. We know that it is fundamentally driven by the ingenuity of businesses and individuals operating in an efficient and competitive market environment. We understand that a core responsibility of government is to facilitate economic opportunities for the people it represents. We understand that governments can impede productivity growth by imposing inefficient and unnecessary taxes, burdensome regulation and ill-targeted spending programs.

Over the last six years, Labor was the roadblock to a more productive Australia. It shut the doors to business and investment, so much so that in August 2012 The Economist's Intelligence Unit ranked Australia 50th out of 51 countries for productivity growth, and No 51 on the list was, in fact, Botswana. Even though Labor spent the last six years talking about productivity and competition, they actually delivered 200,000 extra unemployed Australians—the highest level in almost 15 years. Those opposite spent the last six years talking about productivity and the House should note that in some areas they were productive. They were productive at reducing the real net wealth per person in this country; productive at delivering the five biggest deficits in our history; and productive at creating chaos, waste and mismanagement. They were very productive, indeed, but not the sort of productivity we should aspire to. Let us not forget that federal Labor introduced or amended more than 21,000 regulations during their time in office.

Unlike the previous Labor government, the coalition government has a genuine, achievable plan to improve Australia's productivity. The bill before the House is proof of the coalition's plan to boost productivity. The bill is part of that plan to make Australia more competitive in the global economy and lift our standard of living. As the Prime Minister declared on election night, Australia is back open for business. The construction industry provides many jobs for workers in small business, large enterprises and contractors. The industry is key to a productive, prosperous and internationally competitive Australia.

This bill re-establishes the Australian Building and Construction Commission. The commission is needed to maintain the rule of law, improve productivity on building sites and construction projects and provide workers with a fair, productive and effective workplace. ABCC will re-establish workplaces free from intimidation, where workers can turn up to work without fear of being harassed or subjected to violence. The ABCC was established by the Howard government in response to the recommendations of the Cole Royal Commission into the Building and Construction Industry. Some figures in the union movement have tried to portray the Cole Royal Commission as some sort of witch hunt, but a royal commission is as serious as it gets. The Cole Royal Commission was a detailed and methodical examination of the issues affecting the construction industry in Australia. The Cole Royal Commission found that there was an 'urgent need for structural and cultural reform' within the Australian construction industry. The commission recommended four key structural reforms, including the introduction of mechanisms

to ensure that where disputes occur within the industry, such disputes are resolved in accordance with legislated or agreed dispute resolution mechanisms rather than by the application of industrial and commercial pressure.

The commission also recommended the establishment of a tough cop on the beat. Specifically, the commission recommended:

…an independent body, free of the pressures on the participants in the industry, which will ensure that participants comply with industrial, civil and criminal laws applicable to all Australians, and thus operating on building and construction sites, as well as industry specific laws applicable to this industry only.

The ABCC was that tough cop on the beat, and it worked. When the ABCC was patrolling the construction sector, industry productivity was up by 9.4 per cent; Australian consumers were better off by about $7.5 billion per year; and fewer days were lost to industrial action.

When the ABCC legislation was repealed by Labor in 2012, within weeks we saw violence in the streets of Melbourne with militant union protestors intimidating the community. This bill makes it clear that this sort of unlawful action will not be tolerated, which is in keeping with community expectations. The Australian community does not want a repeat of Melbourne, where we witnessed police horses being punched by lawless demonstrators. To make the Melbourne situation worse, the protestors were demonstrating in circumstances where the actual workers on site were happy with the employer and their conditions. So much so that they purchased an advertisement in the Herald Sun with an open letter to their own union bosses, asking for the blockades to stop. We had a situation where the workers were asking the union bosses to stop this unlawful activity—a clear demonstration of how out of step the union bosses were with their own members. The union bosses brought back the bad old days of union thuggery where intimidation and militant protests were the norm. I wish I could say that this was an isolated incident, but it is not. We have also seen the violent dispute in Geelong at the Little Creatures Brewery site. This type of violent event that we have seen is exactly the reason the commission needs to be re-established. And I think those opposite knew that when the unions were without that cop on the beat they would return to their bad old ways. I say this because, when those opposite were in government, for five years they put off the demands from unions to abolish the commission. When they finally made that decision it did not take long for wildcat stoppages, militant protests and bullying of non-union members to take place.

The Cole royal commission made a very reasonable statement about the Australian construction industry when it said, 'The rule of law must replace industrial might.' The foundation of our society is the rule of law. But since the ABCC was scrapped, the rule of law has been eroded within the construction industry. The former government replaced the ABCC with a toothless tiger. The current arrangements undermine the rule of law in the construction industry by removing the ability of the new Fair Work Building Industry Inspectorate to instigate proceedings in relation to a matter that had been settled by the parties. In effect, Labor has said to the unions that they can get away with anything, as long as the matter has been settled before the watchdog arrives on the scene. This approach is clearly at odds with the spirit and the detail of the recommendations of the Cole royal commission. This bill will establish the rule of law in the Australian construction industry, and the result will be improved productivity.

The new ABCC will have strong powers. It will have the power to compel witnesses to attend interviews and to produce documents. These powers are robust, but they not unique to the ABCC. Other government agencies have similar powers, including the ACCC, APRA, ASIC and the Australian Taxation Office. The bill does contain appropriate and effective safeguards to ensure that due process and transparency in relation to the exercise of these powers are observed. These safeguards include ensuring the commissioner is able to separate the unlawful and organised picketing aimed at disrupting building and construction work from legitimate protests. Additionally the bill provides for compulsory interview processes to be monitored by the Commonwealth Ombudsman, requiring the commissioner to provide a report to the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman must review the exercise of powers in relation to examinations and report to the parliament about the examinations, including the results of the reviews conducted by the Ombudsman. This oversight is an important element to ensure the Australian public can have faith in the commission. It will ensure accountability and transparency. The government is committed to ensuring that workers in the building and construction sector can go to work free of intimidation and harassment.

The government will set the example. That is why the bill is retaining the role of the Federal Safety Commissioner and the Australian Government Building and Construction Industry WHS Accreditation Scheme. The Australian government is a significant funder of large building and construction projects nationally and we will lead the way on improving work, health and safety standards, and culture throughout the Australian building and construction industry.

We are a government focused on creating jobs. The changes in this bill encourage productivity and the pursuit of high levels of employment in the building and construction industry, an industry which is a major employer in Australia and thus essential to Australia's economic and social wellbeing. I ask those opposite to support our nation's economic and social wellbeing and to support a worker's right to go to work without fear of being harassed. Moreover, I ask those opposite to no longer be the roadblock to building a more productive Australian construction industry. Get out of the way and allow higher living standards and greater productivity for all Australians to prevail. I commend the bill to the House.

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