Brian Burston (NSW, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of the Building and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Bill 2013. This bill would re-establish the Australian Building and Construction Commission. I believe this legislation is in the national interest because it will boost the productivity of our building and construction industry, which employs more than one million Australians. It will also increase the natural justice, fairness and decency of workplaces around Australia, and all Australians have a stake in that.

When I was a boilermaker, I belonged to the metalworkers union. Subsequently, I was a teacher and belonged to the New South Wales Teachers Federation. So I have extensive experience of unions and unionised workplaces. I have seen the good work they do, protecting workers rights, but I have also seen things that are bad for the economy and for fair play.

Following my five-year boilermaker apprenticeship—and I served that at BHP Newcastle, probably one of the most dangerous sites at that time, where up to eight people a year, on average, were killed in industrial accidents—I worked at the Liddell power station in the Hunter Valley in 1969, during its construction. Following that time, I worked at Kurri Engineering, where I witnessed vexatious strikes by the union. They called strikes on the flimsiest of excuses. Unfortunately, the company operated on a strict timetable. The union knew this but nevertheless persisted in what amounted to guerrilla industrial relations. 'Wildcat strike' does not really describe the systematic sabotage I saw. As a result, Kurri Engineering went bust. Everyone lost their job. That was a blow to economic productivity and to jobs, and it was a blow to natural justice. Everyone at that business witnessed the cynicism and the ruthlessness of the union officials and saw them get away with it. Their members suffered, as did the company—and nothing has changed. The rule of law must not only be returned to building sites; it must also be seen to be returned. Let us hope that the passing of this legislation symbolises in the public mind that justice has at last been done.

The arguments against the bills ignore these realities. Consider the opposition's argument that the proposed legislation would reduce workplace safety. They complain that the legislation would reduce flexibility for union safety officials entering worksites. In particular, the legislation reverses the onus of proof onto employees who cite safety concerns as justification for unilaterally stopping work or taking other measures that disrupt their work group's functioning. The legislation would require employees to prove that they were not motivated by any reason other than safety. The opposition make their argument out of context. They do not admit to the sorry history, the sorry reality, of union disruption. If the onus of proof remains with employers, worksites can continue to be disrupted by unscheduled stop-work meetings and walk-offs. The legislation will in no way diminish existing safety regulations and procedures, but it will reduce the hooliganism of some unions and the class-warfare group culture that inhabits them.

At the last election, the government campaigned on these bills. It promised to re-establish the ABCC and it was returned to office. One Nation disagrees with the government on a range of issues, but it is right on this one. The Australian people are sick and tired of misbehaviour on worksites. They want the rule of law returned to the building and construction industry. They want an end to thuggery. One Nation supports this bill.