Bridget Archer (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I think it's interesting that the Labor Party is in here claiming the moral high ground when it comes to standards of due process and probity, but their own record tells a very different story. You only need to look at where they stand on law-breaking unions. There are a number of significant infrastructure projects rolling out in the northern Tasmanian community in Bass, and we can't afford for rogue unions to affect their rollout.

Infrastructure spending is proving to be a key creator of jobs, a driver of business confidence and a means to support an ever-growing community with diverse needs. In my electorate of Bass, just some of the millions of dollars committed to my fantastic community include the northern suburbs community hub—a $15 million investment which will include offices for community organisations and provide pathways for employment and recreational opportunities for young people; the Beauty Point master plan—$3 million towards a project spearheaded by the West Tamar Council to drive tourism growth; or the UTAS redevelopment—the federal government is investing $160 million into the relocation of the University of Tasmania to its new location at Inveresk. It is the single-largest infrastructure project in our city's history and it will create more than 800 jobs.

Despite what Labor would have us believe, we know that some unions are disruptive and engage in behaviour that is detrimental to those that they claim to represent and their communities. In fact, Master Builders Australia estimates that union lawlessness can add up to 30 per cent to the cost of our vital infrastructure like roads, schools and hospitals. Just last week I met with a significant number of construction workers in my community. I noted their excitement in regard to the growth of industry in the region. That's why the government's ensuring integrity bill is so important. Nobody is above the law, and that includes registered unions and employer groups. To be very clear, I have no problem with unions if they are operating in the manner in which they are intended to. I expect them to act in the best interests of their members and obey the law, which most do. However, I certainly support cleaning up the ones that don't, and that's what this bill is designed to do. The bill would introduce additional deterrents into the law to prevent the sort of repeated serious and damaging law-breaking engaged in by a militant minority of registered organisations and their officials and ensure that the courts are able to take appropriate and effective action in response to this sort of law-breaking.

Just in case you need some reminding, the Heydon royal commission also uncovered numerous examples of flagrant disregard for the law by some registered organisations and their officers; and a culture of lawlessness, which is not new and has been exposed for over 30 years and continues to make national headlines. For instance, over $17.2 million in penalties have been handed down by the courts against the CFMMEU and its representatives for over 2,000 contraventions of the law. That is just in cases brought by the building industry watchdog and its predecessors. This law-breaking includes bullying; harassing and intimidating workers who exercise their right not to join a union, including stopping them from being able to work at all; intimidating public servants, including work health and safety inspectors, fair work inspectors, building inspectors and a female police officer; and coercing businesses through industrial lawfare tactics, including those which put workers in danger. We won't sit back and do nothing, as those opposite are wont to do, which is perhaps understandable on their account when you consider that almost $14 million was pumped into the Labor coffers by unions in 2018-19. However, those of us in government actually recognise—

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