Tammy Tyrrell (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Hansard source

Can I just say, some of the language was amazing. No organisation should expect numerous serious allegations of criminal misconduct against its leadership to simply blow over. If it happened to the leadership of your school council, you would say they were dysfunctional. It happened to the leadership of a business you would say they were corrupt or maybe even dodgy. And if the leadership of a school council or a business faced these allegations, there would be people to answer to, investigations into the allegations and consequences if the allegations were true. You'd expect nothing less. So you can't hold the union that's working on the biggest infrastructure programs in the country to a different standard.

The CFMEU are facing serious allegations of criminal behaviour, and they don't want to tell the truth about what's going on. Telling the truth is something that's really important to me. It's a core value that I've carried throughout my life. It's something my mum and dad drilled into me when I was young. They said, 'A lie hurts more than the truth.' I taught my own kids the value of telling the truth even when they know it might get them in trouble. I told my employment service clients to tell the truth, even if it might reflect badly on them. If you've done something wrong, you fess up, tell the truth and face the consequences—not chuck a toddler tantrum when questions are asked. That's why this bill to appoint an administrator is necessary.

Not everyone in the CFMEU is a bad egg. Most of the members are ordinary people—tradies who just want to get on with their jobs—but they're being tarred with the same brush as the people who refuse to do the right thing. Allegations and rumours about the CFMEU have been around for years. It's about time the government got their heads out of the sand and took action against cowboys within the union.

With these allegations coming to light, it's impossible to ignore the elephant in the room. There's currently no independent watchdog for the construction sector. It's a dance we've seen for years. The coalition set up the Australian Building and Construction Commission. Then Labor came into government and got rid of it. It's back and forth, back and forth. It's like a bad version of a tango, except that, with the tango, the only consequence of getting it wrong is showing you have two left feet.

We've just seen the consequences of not having construction cops, with the allegations against the CFMEU. The CFMEU works on the biggest infrastructure projects in the country. If they wanted to, they could bring construction in this country to a standstill, and I think they have at times. When anybody or any organisation holds this level of power, there has to be someone to hold them to account, and, after these serious allegations, Labor can't ignore the need for some kind of watchdog.

So here's some free advice, Labor. You should take this opportunity to set up an independent body to monitor the construction sector. If you didn't like the way the ABCC was doing things, then don't do that, but you should work with industry to come up with something you're happy with. That way we'll have something that sticks. That way we'll have consistency. That way, if there are allegations of serious and gross misconduct like those against the CFMEU, the body should stamp it out before it gets to where we are now. It's not a free pass to go soft on the union. An independent watchdog will still need to have teeth to do what's necessary. When someone does the wrong thing, that needs to happen. But let's be honest; it's pretty hard to look at the situation we're in now and argue that we don't need a watchdog. Political grandstanding over the ABCC means that, at the height of these serious allegations, when we need an independent body the most, there's not one there.

Every single Aussie has to face consequences if they do the wrong thing. Whether it's your boss, your family or the police, there's someone to answer to. The CFMEU are definitely not above the law, and, if they won't tell the truth and if they won't face the consequences, then appointing an administrator is the right way forward.