Malcolm Roberts (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

The core issue here, as far as Pauline Hanson's One Nation is concerned, is freedom versus control. That is the issue, the bottom line. Look at phoenixing, which Senator Cameron discussed a while ago. The key point in phoenixing is not to counteract it; the key point is to prevent it, and breaking the big business cartel that involves the CFMEU and major companies is the key to preventing that continuing. The key to phoenixing is preventing it, and that is what this bill does. This bill is not an attack on unions—this bill is about breaking the cartel in the building industry that is suppressing initiative, suppressing innovation and suppressing freedom in that industry.

The key point to phoenixing is breaking the cartel between big business bosses and CFMEU bosses. The key point to safety is breaking the cartel between big business bosses and CFMEU bosses. The key point to efficiency is breaking the cartel between big business bosses and CFMEU bosses. The key point to rewarding work for people in the construction industry and for honest everyday workers is breaking the cartel between big business bosses and CFMEU bosses. The key point to lower costs and to higher value for taxpayers while maintaining honest workers' wages is breaking the cartel between big business bosses and CFMEU bosses. The key point to safeguarding small business in this country, whether that is suppliers or whether that is subbies, is breaking the cartel between big business bosses and CFMEU bosses.

This is the house of review, not the house of repetition, which we have been subjected to by the other side this evening. The key part of the ABCC reform is the Building Code, and the key part in coming to our conclusion to support this bill is in listening to the people. We have heard stories from small businesses, from subbies, from labourers, about the large companies controlling this industry, pushing risk down to the lowest levels where there is no protection. Some of the amendments from the crossbenches have addressed those issues. The key point is that large companies are suppressing competition to remove competition from smaller companies and preventing them becoming larger companies. The key point is that the larger companies are maintaining a cartel. This is where the 30 per cent needless increase in costs is, meaning that large companies stand to make more money just by basing their work on a commission. They do not hire many people, they do not employ many people—they hire subbies who take the risk and then they skim a commission off the top. If the bill overall is 30 per cent higher, they make more money for nothing.

Grace Collier, the journalist and industrial relations consultant, has talked about this at length—about the big companies controlling this cartel and being rampant thanks to support from the CFMEU bosses. We see the need for an IR carve-out to be restricted, because that is being abused in this industry in particular, where they are hiding behind the IR carve-out to force subbies to take on their own large-company employment agreements. We see thugs or bullies—100 or so—in front of the courts for intimidating people and other breaches of law. This bill is about restoring lawful behaviour to this vital industry—one of the largest industries in this country.

The unions themselves, at a very senior level in this industry, met with Pauline Hanson, me and some of our staff and admitted to us that they are no angels. They are no angels indeed! They admitted that they needed to clean up their act. They have had years to do that and they have never cleaned up their act. That is because they are incapable of it. They are incapable of it because they do not understand the issues and the consequences of their bullying behaviour. They do not have the incentive to fix up their act: they do not want to fix up their act, because they are in a very cosy position of having a monopoly—a cartel.

They have protested at our office simply because our leader now Senator Pauline Hanson said that she was in favour of accountability, open disclosure and integrity. So they bullied our office. They tried to break into our office. They graffitied our office. Then they insulted our staff and intimidated our staff.