Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

When are the Labor Party going to say enough is enough and exile these rogue unions from its ranks? When are the Labor Party going to say enough is enough? Only when they are challenged by a coalition senator. What makes all this especially disappointing is that there are good unionists out there.

Senator Bilyk interjecting—

This is a most important part of my contribution, Senator Bilyk. What makes all this especially disappointing is that there are good unionists in our country. There are those who genuinely try to provide a service to their members. I do not doubt that for a second, but their efforts are constantly overwhelmed by behaviour from their colleagues that is either aggressive or criminal or just downright stupid.

You do not have to take my word for it, and indeed I am sure you will not take my word for it. Not long ago, Mr Mark Olson, the WA state secretary of the Australian Nursing & Midwifery Federation, penned an opinion piece in which he called for unions to focus on their core business, which he believes might actually stop haemorrhaging membership numbers. He condemned the recent 'paltry gathering of a few hundred at the steps of Western Australia's Parliament House', which was supposed to represent a mass worker uprising but instead made him:

… wonder why this event was even happening, other than to try and help Labor … and perhaps boost the profiles of some union heavies in an election year.

He went on to say:

Workers are sick of self-serving union officials, helping out their buddies in the movement and in Labor, and not focusing on what's best for their members.

Indeed, Mr Olson is quite right, which is why workers are voting with their feet and why self-serving union figures like Mr Joe McDonald and Mr Christy Cain are resorting to increasingly desperate tactics to try and maintain their own relevance. This government is not about to let them do that, and it is certainly not going to do so at the expense of the national productivity growth.

Under the provisions of this legislation, the Australian Building and Construction Commission will be led by its commissioner, who will have the critical task of monitoring, promoting and enforcing appropriate standards of conduct by building industry participants and referring matters to other relevant agencies and bodies as required. The commissioner will also be responsible for investigating suspected contraventions of the law by building industry participants. They will also institute or intervene in proceedings in accordance with those laws and provide assistance and advice to building industry participants on their rights and obligations under designated building laws.

This government will make certain that the ABCC once re-established will be properly funded to ensure it can do its work and restore some certainty to the nation's construction sector, on which so much direct and indirect employment depends. This legislation enables the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner to compel witnesses to attend an examination, or to produce documents, in circumstances where he or she reasonably believes that the person has information or documents relevant to an investigation into a suspected contravention of workplace relations laws. This is critical in making certain the re-established ABCC is able to carry out its investigations effectively. I have much more to say, but time is definitely against me.