Sarah Henderson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Communications) Share this | Hansard source

If Labor's extreme changes, which force pattern bargaining onto a large part of the economy, were in the best interests of Australia, Mr Albanese would not have kept this dirty, rotten plan a secret before the election. The abolition of the ABCC is another step into the Dark Ages, demonstrating that the unions are running the show. In the case of the abolition of the ABCC, it's all about propping up the CFMMEU.

Bob Hawke had the guts to deregister the rogue BLF. In 2016 he said:

The unions need to clean up their act and get their house in order. It just is appalling.

He said:

… I wouldn't tolerate it. You know what I did with the Builders Labourers Federation—I would throw them out.

As we've heard from Senator Cash, things have just got worse. The ALP is receiving, on average, nearly a million dollars a year in donations from the CFMMEU and the MUA, and that's been the case over the past two decades. The abolition of the ABCC is nothing more than payback. Total union funds to the ALP since the 2018-20 financial year are almost $20 million.

The fact of the matter is that Mr Albanese is too weak to stand up to John Setka and the CFMMEU and he's already given in to this demand. What else is next? Labor is turning a blind eye to the findings from royal commissions and countless rulings from the courts, which have highlighted the lawlessness and intimidation of the unions and the need for strong workplace regulations. Labor is happy to hand the keys to the front gates and lunchrooms at building sites back to the CFMMEU. It is an absolute disgrace. It is a scandal. It is a scandal that officials from registered organisations, of course including union officials, are exempt from the National Anti-Corruption Commission. It's a scandal that, despite the appalling treatment of women on building sites, the Labor government is working hand in glove with this union.

Let me remind all senators here today that the High Court has found that the CFMMEU was a serial offender, which engages in whatever action and makes whatever threats it wishes without regard to the law. It has contravened the laws on approximately 150 occasions. It was well resourced. These fines are just the cost of doing business. The lawlessness on building sites when the CFMMEU were in charge was frightening. The ABCC did so much important work to make sure that the interests of all Australians came first.

It is an absolute disgrace that this Labor government hasn't got the guts to stand up to the lawlessness of the likes of the CFMMEU—unlike one of the giants of the Labor Party, Bob Hawke. As I said, he would be rolling in his grave if he could see how this Labor government has diminished the best interests of all Australians.