Keith Pitt (Hinkler, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We've seen a lot of reports in recent weeks about the CFMEU, but this is not an overnight revelation. It is not. In fact, in 2019 those opposite could have supported the changes we wanted to put in place, which would have made a difference. But finally the Labor Party has said, after taking $6 million plus from the CFMEU, they won't take any more donations. But they haven't said that they will stop taking paid labour from the CFMEU to work in polling booths, to work on prepoll, to hand out, to make phone calls, to campaign. Every single member of the Labor Party should make that same commitment, because what is the difference between a CFMEU member on a construction site using standover tactics, threatening tactics, intimidation, and those same people being paid to work on a polling booth? There is none.

I bring this back to my local area. What will the Labor member for Bundaberg do? What will the Labor member for Maryborough do? Will they actually not take this paid labour? Will they not utilise what we know and have seen had been criminal activities from the CFMEU? There have been prosecutions galore. We know this. It is a fact. But they won't do that. Those candidates right across Queensland—those Labor candidates who should not be taking either donations or paid labour—will not, and here's why. The member for Maryborough said he was 'proud to be a union thug'. That's a direct quote. We know that the member for Bundaberg, who won by just nine votes at the last election, is the union's man in Bundaberg and in the state parliament. He was sent up from Brisbane to run in Bundaberg and has absolutely no ties with our community whatsoever.

But what is it that this deal with the CFMEU does to Queensland taxpayers, to Australian taxpayers? If we look at some of the local projects that I have going on—well, that are supposed to be going on. The Bundaberg Hospital, which was committed as a level 5 university training hospital by the now member for Bundaberg, the Labor member, at the last election—they pushed a bit of scrub around and put up some temporary fences, and that moved nowhere—has now got furious activity just a few months out from the state election. It is incredible.

But the real question is: what are the BPIC rules—the 'CFMEU tax', as it's better known in Queensland—doing to the cost of projects? The Bundaberg Hospital project is estimated to cost $1.2 billion and deliver just 121 beds. It's been reported that the BPIC policy—the CFMEU tax—drives up prices by 30 per cent. I tell you it's a lot more than 30 per cent. I've spoken to any number of industry participants. For one in particular, his company put in a bid, but the winning bid was three times the price. He wasn't able to bid, because he wasn't a CFMEU endorsed contractor; he had a deal with another union. Can you imagine how much more the taxpayer could get if this nonsense weren't in place? It would be a much better outcome.

And look at the proposed Bundaberg flood levee, which I opposed for technical reasons. It is better known as the 'Jack Dempsey Promenade', as I'm sure you understand, Mr Speaker! It is currently at $175 million, and I've had local contractors ring to tell me that they have no chance of getting into this, because they're not a CFMEU endorsed contractor. In fact, the BPIC rules say that the unions get to recommend who can bid and who can be successful. How much more will this cost than it should? How much more will the taxpayer have to front because of these deals with the union by Queensland Labor and Labor governments? It is outrageous.

Everyone understands that we need to build projects and we need to build infrastructure, but why should it cost three times more simply because the CFMEU is involved in the construction? Why is it that a stop-go individual, for example—a traffic controller—can get $250,000 a year on one of these sites, but a nurse, teacher or someone else who's not CFMEU aligned can't? Why should the taxpayer pay for this largesse? In my local area, they're across it. They know what is going on and they will not stand for it.

I say again to those state Labor candidates: stop taking paid labour from the CFMEU. Every single Australian is entitled to go into a polling booth without harassment and without intimidation. If it's good enough for a construction site, it is absolutely good enough for Australian democracy.