Henry Pike (Bowman, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) the increasing costs in the construction industry are creating significant strains on Australian building companies;

(b) rising costs are creating serious delays and further exacerbating substantial housing shortages in many communities across the country; and

(c) these shortages are perpetuating the current rental crisis;

(2) acknowledges that:

(a) union lawlessness is on the rise in the commercial construction sector following the Government's announcement to abolish the construction industry watchdog, the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC); and

(b) this lawlessness is further undermining the housing industry and compounding the strains felt across the sector; and

(3) calls on the Government to:

(a) implement measures to reign in rising costs, assisting businesses, renters and Australians who are building or have bought their own home;

(b) move to curtail the underhanded and illegal actions of the Construction Forestry Maritime Mining Energy Union (CFMMEU) throughout the commercial construction sector; and

(c) reinstate the ABCC in its role as the construction industry watchdog.

It is hard to overstate the importance of the construction industry to Australia's economy. It is Australia's fifth-largest sector, contributing around eight per cent of our GDP and employing 1.1 million Australians. At this time, the industry is facing immense pressure. We've got significant labour shortages, significant supply disruption, and inflationary pressures forcing up the cost of materials to levels never seen before. This, of course, has flow-on impacts across the economy and across our society, perpetuating an undersupply of dwellings that has created our ongoing rental crisis. I've come out of the construction and property sector, and I know the challenges facing the industry and how important the sector is for Australia's economic growth.

I also know, from firsthand experience, that the Australian Building and Construction Commission has played a critical role in promoting integrity, safety, and lawfulness in the construction sector. The ABCC has achieved a successful outcome in 103 of 112 cases resolved. The courts have imposed $17.9 million in penalties against all respondents and the ABCC has recovered $5.53 million in wages for 8,921 employees. Against the CFMMEU, it has been successful in 84 of 92 cases since 2016, with courts imposing penalties of $16.1 million.

At such an acute time for the industry, it beggars belief that the Labor government will seek to abolish the ABCC and, in the interim, pull the powers back to a bare legal minimum. This is a purely ideological project. This is already having a significant impact on the construction sector. We've already seen growing lawlessness across commercial construction, and we've seen 200 CFMMEU members storm the Transport and Main Roads building in Brisbane. We've seen Master Builders staff in South Australia have their cars vandalised and CFMMEU stickers placed upon them, leading to the South Australian Premier to quite rightly order the return of CFMMEU donations. In the last fortnight, we've seen the mining and manufacturing divisions of the CFMMEU seeking to break away from the lawlessness of the construction division. Just this month, the ABCC has taken multiple actions against those engaged in lawlessness, both unions and builders. I quote from their recent media release headlines: 'ABCC alleges CFMMEU targeted workers with abuse and threats at Newcastle building site'; 'ABCC starts legal actions against employer over alleged non-payment of workers'; 'CFMMEU and representatives penalised $495,000 over work stoppages at Melbourne University … project site'; and, finally, 'ABCC takes CFMMEU, CEPU to court over alleged right of entry breaches at a Brisbane CBD project site'. And that's all just in the last couple of weeks. If the new government abolishes the ABCC, who's going to protect workers in the construction industry from this thuggish behaviour? Labor will leave this crucial industry and those who work in it unprotected and put Australia's economic growth at great risk at a very acute time for both the industry and the economy.

Because we know the fundamental importance of the construction industry to Australia's economy, we know the impact that drawing back the ABCC will have across this sector. Australia is already a high-cost country for construction, whether it be for infrastructure, or commercial or residential construction. We simply can't afford another additional non-productivity on top of the pressures the industry is already battling with. Don't just take my word for it. The Australian Industry Group, one of the groups that the Prime Minister lauded for attending the recent Jobs and Skills Summit in this building, said the decision to disempower the commission is 'a backwards step for the fight against bullying and intimidation'. EY's The costs of abolishing the Australian Building and Construction Commission report from April this year found that the abolition of the ABCC could lead to a total loss to our economy of about $47.5 billion in GDP by 2030 and that output in the construction industry alone could fall by $35 billion by 2030. The EY modelling suggests that up to 4,000 jobs could be put at risk by this move.

I call on the government to reinstate the ABCC to its full role and powers as the construction industry watchdog, and I call on members to support this motion.

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