Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm extraordinarily grateful to the member for Kingsford Smith since he gives me the perfect opportunity to highlight once again for the benefit of the House the stark contrast which exists between some of the best of what has been achieved in protecting workers and the diabolical conduct of the absolute embarrassment which passes for a trade union in the Australian construction sector today.

Banning forced or compulsory labour; prohibiting discrimination on race, gender, religious or political grounds; and working to stop dangerous child labour are critical projects, and doubtless the International Labour Organization has played a valuable and worthwhile role. But, in stark contrast to these admirable achievements, what is today's CFMMEU fighting for? It is the right for workers to walk off the job if the temperature exceeds 28 degrees Celsius and the humidity rises above 75 per cent in South-East Queensland. For the benefit of our southern members, 28 degrees is not a hot day in South-East Queensland. Frankly, I hope the CFMMEU officials who dreamt this up are ashamed of themselves, but I wouldn't hold my breath. There were 13 days last year which would've been lost as a result of these conditions.

So that's what today's CFMMEU is fighting for: nearly an extra three working weeks off for its members, which most workers would be ashamed to take, surely—13 days a year on which our police officers, firefighters, council workers, farmers, and posties will carry on working and contributing to this country while watching our construction workers shirk off for a lie-down in the shade. That is only those construction workers working on a CFMMEU building site.

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