Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Problems with Australia's current industrial relations framework were highlighted by Labor's Fair Work Act Review Panel and various Productivity Commission inquiry and other reports and illuminated further through a never-ending caravan of Federal Court cases as well as the recent Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption. There is not just a series of isolated spot fires in Australia's building and construction industry; there is a raging bushfire fuelled by the commercial and other interests of union bosses and the inherent conflicts of interest of those who represent them in this place.

Parliament's approach to making and policing industrial laws should not make lawful or acceptable in Australian workplaces what would otherwise be bullying, intimidating, threatening, illegal, violent, corrupt and criminal. The coalition government stands on the side of workers, employers and the independent judiciary. Australia is poorly served by those who would simply outsource Australia's industrial relations policy and practice to serial offenders who have an attitude of indifference to compliance with the requirements of our laws.

This is now the second time in as many years that the Building and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Bill 2013 has been before this House. It is a key government policy. It was an election commitment at both the 2010 and 2013 federal elections. Few could doubt that this government—indeed, this parliament—received a clear mandate from the Australian people to make the important changes contained within this bill. The coalition committed to re-establish the Australian Building and Construction Commission in order to return the rule of law to commercial building sites and construction projects right across Australia as well as increase productivity. The body of evidence supporting the need for these changes is compelling. It is growing with every unlawful trespass, unlawful strike and unlawful union stop-work and with every judicial intervention and legal remedy. Make no mistake: it is costing money; it is reducing productivity; it is increasing costs; and it is costing jobs.

I was a member of the coalition's working group tasked with examining the governance and other problems in the construction sector, which included recommendations to promptly re-establish the Australian Building and Construction Commission. The main object of the bill is to provide an improved workplace relations framework for building and construction work to ensure that it is carried out fairly, efficiently and productively for the benefit of all building industry participants and the Australian economy as a whole. Government must protect and maintain the rule of law and, wherever possible, drive productivity and economic growth.

I note that the Productivity Commission inquiry into workplace relations frameworks deliberately stayed away from the criminal aspects of Australia's industrial relations framework because they were the subject of the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption. The inquiry did, however, make a salient observation, which takes us back to the future, in citing the Cole royal commission, which acted as a catalyst for establishing the Australian Building and Construction Commission over a decade ago. The Productivity Commission pointed out that industrial action over safety issues was increasingly a Trojan Horse for other objectives. It observed that some types of unlawful activities can give parties leverage in an industrial dispute by inflicting or threatening to inflict substantial harm, which may be economic or personal, on the other party unless the offending party's demands are met. The Productivity Commission pointed out that this was a significant problem in some sectors, especially the construction industry. It even provided broad examples of the unlawful conduct, which included delaying or blockading of workplaces and sites, bullying, verbal abuse and other coercive conduct and unlawful entry to sites.

There is an old saying that you cannot be a slave to two masters, and those opposite are most assuredly parroting lines scripted by their CFMEU bosses. The Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption argued that the suggestion that the need for specific industrial regulation cannot be justified by criminal conduct occurring within the industry is misplaced, saying:

It ignores the fact that a lot of the criminal conduct for which unions and union officials are responsible arises in the context of breaches of industrial laws (either because it occurs in the course of contravening industrial laws, or because it constitutes a criminal contempt of orders of a court restraining contraventions of industrial laws) and out of a culture of defiance of all laws. It also ignores the ability of a dedicated industrial regulator to assist police, through referrals and information sharing, in combatting criminal activity within the industry.

Labor are seriously conflicted when it comes to industrial relations matters because the commercial and other interests of their biggest financial benefactors are not always in the national interest. With specific regard to the ongoing and flagrant abuses of Australia's industrial law framework and practice, the Federal Court points out that union officials' misbehaviour is 'coordinated and strategic'. It went on to say:

It is fair to describe the CFMEU record as dismal. … The record indicates an attitude of indifference by the CFMEU to compliance with the requirements of the legislation regarding the exercise of rights of entry.

It is clear the Australian industrial framework needs a stronger cop on the beat, especially in the building and construction sector.

This bill, the Building and Construction Industry (Improving productivity) Bill 2013 [No.2], re-establishes the Australian Building and Construction Commission to regulate the building and construction industry and provides for its functions and powers, including those of the ABCC inspectors. This is great news for the many members of my electorate who pleaded with me to do whatever I could to stop unions dictating the terms and conditions of operation for their businesses. One constituent informed me that the union prevented his business from receiving any jobs in Brisbane because he chose not to sign CFMEU's EBA. For this small business, union threats resulted in a net financial loss exceeding $500,000. Unnecessary interruptions, intimidation and disruption caused by unions on his building sites were the norm.

Evidence presented to the committee in the preparation of this bill two years ago was also consistent with the recurring themes presented in evidence and testimony to Fair Work Australia, the courts and the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption. Aggressive and militant union behaviour is commonplace.

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