Wyatt Roy (Longman, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Innovation) Share this | Hansard source

I also rise to speak on the Building and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Bill 2013 [No. 2]. Surely a modern society such as ours—one that aspires to harmony, equality, the all-Australian fair go—would by definition deem bullying of any nature to be intolerable. However, a return to the bad old days of union thuggery and standover is exactly what has transpired with the Labor Party's abolition of the Australian Building and Construction Commission in 2012. The final report of the royal commission into trade union governance and corruption reveals a litany of ugliness perpetuated on those honest, hardworking Australians who occupy the construction industry.

When those people who own or work for a small or medium enterprise wake up each day, genuinely fearing for the survival of their business, the livelihoods of their workers and in some cases the personal safety of themselves and their staff, something is terribly wrong. Abuse, threats of physical violence against individuals and families, personal and economic intimidation, sabotage, union black bans from the prospect of future work: how utterly dehumanising is all of this? Yet this much is also true: the construction industry in Australia provides many, many jobs for workers in small business, larger enterprises and contracting. The sector is critical to a productive, prosperous and internationally competitive Australia.

The coalition government recognises the importance of an industry that is vital to job creation and essential to Australia's economic and social wellbeing. The antithesis of wellbeing descends when workers are exposed to atmospheric fear, threats, intimidation and reprisals, knowing that unless they yield to the overlords of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union an arsenal of bullying firepower awaits, potentially destroying the viability of their business and with that their very future and that of their families. These bills re-establish the Australian Building and Construction Commission, a proven, robust watchdog that will trump the weakness of bullies by maintaining the rule of law to protect workers and builders and improve productivity on construction sites, both onshore and offshore. The bills prohibit unlawful industrial action, unlawful picketing, coercion and discrimination. Penalties sufficiently onerous to effectively deter will apply to breaches of these provisions. An array of other measures, such as injunctions, will also be available to the ABCC and those subjected to unlawful behaviour.

For background and for the benefit of members in the House, the shocking behaviour that blighted the construction sector for many years was tackled by the then workplace relations minister in the Howard government, the honourable member for Warringah, who in 2001 established a royal commission into the building and construction industry; the final report of that commission produced overwhelming evidence of the need for reform. The personal wounds—intimidation, lawlessness, thuggery and violence—rode in tandem with economic suffering—project delays and cost blow-outs—which stifled investment and jeopardised vital infrastructure and Australian jobs. The subsequent establishment of the Australian Building and Construction Commission in 2005 quickly and unapologetically dealt decisively with the worst of it. It was a specialist regulator with teeth that went in hard and enforced the rule of law.

While the ABCC existed, building and construction industry productivity grew by more than nine per cent, consumers were better off by around $7.5 billion annually, and fewer working days were lost through industrial action. But the former Labor government, itself feeling the heat of its union masters, eventually caved in, and under the then workplace relations minister and now Leader of the Opposition, Bill Shorten, the regulator was abolished. The bad days surged back: wildcat stoppages, militant protests, mates being hired ahead of nonunionists, and construction industry disputes escalating to a seven-year high.

The coalition committed to re-establishing the Australian Building and Construction Commission to once again ensure the rule of law and productivity on commercial building sites and construction projects. At the last federal election the government was given a clear mandate by the Australian people to make this change. The central plank of these bills is to provide an improved workplace relations framework for building and construction work to ensure that it is carried out fairly, efficiently and productively, thus benefiting all who participate in the building industry and the Australian economy at large.

The bills will improve the bargaining environment to promote genuine negotiations, taking into account the uniqueness of each workplace. The bills uphold and encourage respect for the rule of law and the rights of all building industry participants. There are provisions to make sure that unlawful action, including unlawful industrial action and unlawful pickets, are dealt with appropriately. The bills enable courts to impose significant penalties for those individuals and organisations choosing unlawful action.

The Australian Building and Construction Commissioner will be empowered to gather information quickly and effectively, without the hindrance of bureaucratic red tape. However, to ensure accountability and transparency, these powers and their use will continue to be reviewed by the Commonwealth Ombudsman. The reinstated ABCC is not a corruption watchdog; it is an industry regulator, enforcing compliance with industrial and workplace laws.

Perhaps above all, these bills will spur productivity and employment in the building and construction industry. Industrial unlawfulness and breaching workplace laws inflicts billions of dollars in costs on the Australian economy and costs Australian jobs. The new laws will create jobs and investment by ensuring employers and workers can get on with the job, without fear of intimidation. We cannot allow entrenched unlawful union conduct within this incredibly important industry.

With all of the evidence of unlawfulness, the personal toll for everyday Australians and the cost to the Australian economy, those who do not support the restoration of the ABCC need to indisputably explain why. We need to do more in this parliament than members running into this chamber to protect their preselections and keep their union masters happy. We need members of parliament who will stand up for hardworking Australians and the right for them to participate in a lawful workplace, and for those reasons I commend these bills to the House.

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