Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

Yes, I do think it's trivial to pursue building companies over the fact that they allow their workers to put stickers on their helmets. I think that is pretty trivial. I think it's a waste of taxpayers' money, to spend half a million dollars pursuing construction companies over matters like that or about flags that they display.

As I said in question time yesterday, and I repeat now: there is no place for thuggish or sexist or homophobic behaviour in a workplace, whether it be a parliament—something that certain people might need to reflect on—or a construction site. There is no place for that kind of behaviour in any workplace. But that is not what this motion is about, as much as the opposition might try to make it about that.

Let's be very clear what this motion is about. With this motion, Senator Cash and her coalition colleagues seek to lock in low productivity in our construction industry, introduce more red tape for employers and workers, and remove freedom of expression—things that I thought were hallmarks of the modern Liberal Party. They want to bring down productivity. Anyone who looks at the statistics about labour productivity in the construction sector since the ABCC was introduced can see that it has actually fallen. It's about tying firms up with more red tape—things like whether union posters can be displayed, and whether stickers or flags can be put up. It's about banning companies from coming to agreements with their own workers about the employment of apprentices.

Opposition senators interjecting—