Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It would have been terrible for you to realise that the ABCC was working, just as it will work again when reintroduced by this government. The most recent royal commission findings once again lift the veil on what everybody in this industry has known for over 40 years but previous governments were either unwilling or unable to tackle. The Heydon royal commission again reported that there is still 'a culture of wilful defiance of the law which appears to lie at the core of the CFMEU'. Since 2005 the CFMEU has had to pay $8 million of its members' money in fines—$8 million of the membership dues paid by the CFMEU membership have been paid for wilful breaches by the union officials of legislation. As the royal commission found, they continue to wilfully flout the law and keep using their members' money as a bit of an ATM to pay for their own fines. This systematic and volatile culture of bullying, corruption and harassment that was again identified by the most recent royal commission reinforces the need for active enforcement of workplace laws.