Christopher Back (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to totally reject the majority report of the Senate Education and Employment References Committee's inquiry into the Australian Building and Construction Commission bills. Once again, regrettably, the quality of the activities and the reports and the recommendations and the work of this chamber has been cheapened.

I regret, on behalf of coalition senators, that the Labor Party's decision, with support from the Greens, to refer this legislation for further review is an abuse of the process. It was only in December that the legislation committee reported on this very question. For those who wished to, they had the opportunity to present, to submit, to appear as witnesses and to put information before that committee—and they did so. Literally, only within weeks of the legislation committee reporting to the Senate on the outcome, which of course was that the ABCC legislation should proceed, we had the circumstance in which we had yet another series of hearings by the references committee going over exactly the same information.

I do want to record, in the few minutes available to me, the courtesy that the minister, Minister Abetz, showed to this references committee by appearing. I do not recall too many instances when Labor were in government that the minister of the day appeared before a committee and made themselves available. Minister Abetz, obviously along with his officers, did that.

Of course it is not necessary for me to read out the long litany of current reasons why we need the re-establishment of the ABCC. Just simply, if I may, Business SA submitted to the legislation committee that there was evidence that lawlessness identified by the Cole royal commission had returned in full force. The Master Builders, describing the 2011 Melbourne markets case, demonstrated that the courts had recognised—the courts had recognised!—deliberate flouting of the law by the CFMEU to obtain industrial advantage. Do I need to go on? In that case, the court imposed a $250,000 penalty.

On the day that this references committee met in Melbourne, only as we rose—there is a three-hour time difference between Perth and Melbourne—did we hear of the judgement in the federal court in Perth in which $684,000 in fines and compensation was awarded against the CFMEU, while the union's assistant state secretary, Mr Joseph McDonald, was himself fined $30,500 and banned from Brookfield Multiplex worksites until December 2016. I cannot for one moment imagine how my colleagues on the other side could come forward with the recommendation that there is no need for the re-establishment of the ABCC. I asked the CFMEU representative what was he willing to do, what evidence could he show of action by the union in condemning the use of force and abuse of process. Of course I got no answer at all. The MBA—the Master Builders Association—listed a number of examples.

Time does not permit me to spell out all the reasons why I believe this references inquiry really, with deep respect, ended up being worse than a farce. Coalition senators believe the Labor and the Greens senators must carefully consider their actions in the spirit of what this place is for—that is, for the opportunity for inquiries to be raised, for terms of reference to be struck, for submissions to be prepared and presented, for witnesses to appear, and of course for due process to take place. It has not taken place in this case. The coalition senators stand by the legislation committee and its recommendations. I thank you for the opportunity to comment.