Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is for the Minister for Defence Industry representing the Minister for Employment. Will the minister outline how the Australian Building and Construction Commission will help restore the rule of law on building sites across the country.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Berowra for his question. Today is a red letter day for the Turnbull government, for the Australian economy and for the Australian parliament because the Australian Building and Construction Commission, first created by the member for Warringah when he was the Minister for Employment many years ago, has now been brought back into existence by the member for Wentworth. This is a very signature achievement on our part. The member for Berowra might like to know that the last time that the ABCC was in existence, productivity in building and construction increased by 16½ per cent and consumers saved $7½ billion to their hip pockets because the ABCC helped to clean up building and construction sites.

The Minister for Employment, Senator Cash, deserves our absolute congratulations for the terrific job she has done in steering a bill through the Senate that had been defeated twice by the previous Senate in the previous parliament, that many people said could not be achieved and that was the source of the double dissolution election. This government steadfastly, sensibly and methodically got the bill through, along with the Registered Organisations Commission.

The Leader of the Opposition never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity—a phrase that might well be known to the member for Berowra. The Leader of the Opposition missed the opportunity on the Registered Organisations Commission, where he could have been standing up for the workers rather than the union bosses. Now, he has missed an opportunity to stand up to the CFMEU and to show that he is not a patsy of the CFMEU. He has missed that opportunity because he has $11 million worth of reasons why he sticks to the CFMEU like glue. It is another example of the abject failure of leadership by the Leader of the Opposition, making him quite unfit to be Prime Minister of Australia.