Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Women) Share this | Hansard source

In addressing the question before the chair, I would like to respond to a number of the claims that were made by Senator Conroy in his address-in-reply speech.

The first is in relation to the nature of the powers that are proposed to be given to the Australian Building and Construction Commission. The first claim that has been made—and looking in particular now at the ads that are running on the TV from the CFMEU—is that workers have fewer legal protections than ice dealers. This is false, and it shows that the CFMEU will do anything, and stoop to all-new lows, to ensure that the ABCC is not re-established. Why did the CFMEU only start running those ads now, when we are but weeks or months from an election in 2016—when the powers that the ABCC are proposed to have are the exact same powers that former Prime Minister Gillard and those on the other side, including Senator Cameron, have given to the Fair Work Building and Construction inspectorate? Senators in this chamber, you should ask yourselves that question: why is it that it is only now that the CFMEU have twigged that they do not like these powers? As I said, they are the same powers that the Fair Work Building Construction inspectorate itself currently has. In fact, if you look around this Senate, this exact Senate voted to continue with those powers—the powers that the CFMEU are now saying should not be had; saying that workers have fewer legal protections than ice dealers. These are the same powers that this particular Senate has already voted to extend and, of course, that extension goes until 30 June 2017.

So what do we propose to do with those powers if we are given the ability to re-establish the ABCC? All we propose to do is to remove the sunset clause—that is it. The ABCC will have the same powers as former Prime Minister Gillard gave to the Fair Work Building and Construction inspectorate—the same powers that this Senate voted to extend until 30 June 2017. That is it. So for the CFMEU to suddenly cry foul and to suddenly say, 'we have a problem with these powers,' shows that this is nothing more and nothing less than a political stunt on behalf of the CFMEU. In particular, it shows that they will do anything and they will say anything to ensure that the laws in the building and construction industry are not changed.

We all know what occurred when the former ABCC became the Fair Work Building and Construction inspectorate—what happened literally overnight on the streets of Melbourne. I think Australians are still astounded that, within weeks of the ABCC being abolished, the power was being watered down and the penalties were cut by two-thirds. We had an incredible display of bullying, intimidation and thuggery on the streets of Melbourne with the Grocon dispute. In any other workplace in Australia, if you went to work in an industry that had a culture of fear, that had a culture of intimidation, and that had a culture of thuggery, people would be screaming from the highest rooftops that something needs to change. Royal commission after royal commission and Federal Court finding after Federal Court finding have found that this is the one industry in Australia where compliance with the law is not adhered to. In fact, it is often said that noncompliance with workplace laws is the mode of doing business when it comes to the CFMEU and the building and construction sector.

Why should Australians care about the bullying, thuggery and intimidation that we know, from an evidence base, are rife in this sector? It is for these reasons: the building and construction industry represents approximately eight per cent of Australia's gross domestic product. It is our nation's third-largest employer. So when you look around the streets, one in 10 Australians rely on the building and construction sector for their jobs. In my home state of Western Australia 150,000 people are employed by the small and medium businesses within the building and construction industry. When you look at the statistics, in terms of small and medium businesses—and small and medium businesses are the backbone of the Australian economy—more than 96 per cent of all businesses in the construction industry are small businesses.

Mr President, would you allow your son or daughter to take a job in an industry that is marred by bullying, intimidation and thuggery? I would say not. That is why it is a priority of this government, as part of our economic reform agenda, to assure that we pass the Australian Building and Construction Commission legislation and restore law and order to this vital sector of Australia's economy.

Ordered that the resumption of the debate be made an order of the day for a later hour.