Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister update the House on the government's achievements, including how our economic reforms are driving jobs and growth? How will the Australian Building and Construction Commission help to improve productivity and reduce construction costs?

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for her question. She understands very well how important the construction and building sector is to Australia—eight per cent of GDP, a million Australians employed, 300,000 small businesses. This sector, this industry has been subject to a reign of terror from militant unions—the CFMEU—who have defied the law for years ever since a Labor government under Bill Shorten, under the Leader of the Opposition as the minister—

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, point of order.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister will resume his seat. The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat. The Prime Minister needs to refer to members by their correct titles.

Government members interjecting—

Members on my right! The Manager of Opposition Business has the call.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You just had, on interjection, the minister for immigration do the exact same thing in not calling people by their titles. You either maintain the rules of this place for all members or you do not. On this day, of all days, you should not be letting people get away with that.

Honourable members interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat. Members on both sides will cease interjecting. I am going to go back to the ruling I made on referring to members by their correct titles, and I am going to address the House on this subject. I realise tensions are running high, but I would ask the Manager of Opposition Business to listen carefully to what I am saying, because it relates to both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, and indeed to himself and to the Leader of the House.

At the end of question time, when I had sat members down for not using correct titles, I made a statement. You will see that that statement refers to a number of aspects about context and the like. There is another element as well that is well established within the Practiceif he wishes, through the course of question time, I can show him the reference—that special latitude on all matters is given to party leaders and, in fact, to managers of opposition business and to the Leader of the House. So, in this sense, I have exercised that latitude. I would exercise it in precisely the same way to the Leader of the Opposition, as I have on many occasions and, indeed, I did on budget night of this year, where the offences were repeated over and over again. I am going to ask the Prime Minister to resume his answer, and to refer to members by their correct titles. The Practice makes it very clear that is the case, and it was in my consideration when I made that judgement.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It was during the Gillard government that the Leader of the Opposition—the then employment minister—oversaw the abolition of the Australian Building and Construction Commission. This was done at the behest of the CFMEU—once again, the Labor Party standing up for the bosses of militant unions, just as they have done again and again and again. Render unto Caesar what is due to Caesar, and that is the absolute obedience of the Labor Party, delivering for Cesar Melhem and all the other Labor leaders who have misused and abused their authority as leaders of trade unions.

We are restoring the rule of law to the building and construction sector. We took that pledge to the election, and the Senate has passed the legislation today, just as it passed the registered organisations bill, just as it passed the legislation to protect the volunteers of the Country Fire Authority from a takeover by another militant union, and just as the Senate agreed to abolish the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal that, again, the Leader of the Opposition set up—in that case, to defend the interests of the Transport Workers Union, to the disadvantage of tens of thousands of owner-drivers.

We stand up for workers, we stand up for families and we stand up for the interests of Australians and Australian taxpayers who are entitled to have a construction sector that complies with the rule of law. I want to thank the Senate leadership team, I want to thank the minister, Senator Cash, and I particularly want to thank the crossbenchers who supported the legislation, because they had the courage to do what the Labor Party would not, which is to recognise that the rule of law must be extended across our nation. Just as we expect Australians here in this House to comply with the law, just as we expect the law to apply in our streets, our towns and our schools, so it should apply in that sector of our economy which employs a million Australians. This is a great step forward for Australian families and for jobs and growth.