John Madigan (Victoria, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the ABCC bills. I strongly oppose this legislation and will be voting against it. I admire my crossbench colleagues for attempting to negotiate with the government. Of course we should be tackling corruption and misconduct. We should be doing everything we can to clean up all facets of our society, including our legal system, our commercial sector and the political sphere. Corruption is not unique to the building industry. If the government was fair dinkum, it would be looking to tackle corruption across the board.

The ABCC's unique focus on the building sector and the draconian nature of its coercive powers render it inconsistent with fundamental democratic principles, including equality before the law, the presumption of innocence and the right to silence. The parliament should be reluctant to pass legislation that offends these principles. The ABCC legislation provides inspectors with powers that are arguably greater than those possessed by ASIO and other intelligence organisations. These powers allow the ABCC to force anyone to provide information, produce documents or answer questions. If you do not comply, you face criminal prosecution and six months in prison.

Say I was a young apprentice who witnessed a fatal workplace incident due to faulty machinery. I contact representatives from my union to voice my concerns and a meeting is scheduled to discuss those concerns. The ABCC hear about the meeting and decide to investigate what occurred at that meeting. Under the proposed laws the ABCC can come to my home at 9 pm without a warrant, bring whoever they like with them, enter my home where my young children might be sleeping, search whatever they like, interview whoever they like and take whatever they want. If I do not oblige, I face six months in the slammer, or they can find me up to $36,000 if they deem my meeting illegal.

I have done nothing wrong. I wanted to raise concerns about that fatal accident with the intention of preventing it from occurring again. That does not matter to the ABCC. I do not have a right to silence. I do not have a right to privacy in my own home. I am not afforded the right against self-incrimination. My basic human rights are taken from me just for voicing my concerns over a life-threatening issue. I have fewer rights than an alleged murderer. Not even the police hold these powers. If coercive powers of the type proposed are genuinely needed, which I seriously question, they should apply to all people in all industries.

On 24 February the Senate passed a motion moved by Senator Wang and myself resolving to hold an inquiry into the establishment of a federal corruption body to be known as the National Integrity Commission. The inquiry will consider the adequacy of Australia's existing legislative, institutional and policy frameworks in addressing corruption and misconduct wherever it is occurring. It will also consider the nature and extent of coercive powers possessed by various statutory agencies, whether these are consistent with democratic principles and, if not, whether they are strictly necessary to each agency's ability to carry out its work.

The Prime Minister has repeatedly rejected the idea of establishing a national corruption body. Attorney-General Senator Brandis, when rejecting the need for such a body, went so far as to suggest that Australian federal politics is remarkably free of corruption. Yet this is a government whose Cabinet Secretary, Arthur Sinodinos, remains under investigation—

Debate interrupted.