David Pocock (ACT, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I wanted to thank Minister Watt and the government for your constructive and proactive engagement on the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment (Administration) Bill 2024. I also wanted to thank Senator Cash for the good faith engagement around the amendments that the coalition is planning to put forward. This legislation has obviously been done quickly, but it now has been done with some consultation and a genuine willingness to improve this bill, and I think we'll see that through the amendments to be circulated. The overwhelming message I've heard from stakeholders is that we need action now. We can't delay the need for administration. The need for someone to get in there and start to have a good look at what's been happening is urgent.

I'd like to repeat what I have noted previously in this chamber. There haven't been, against the ACT branch, the kinds of allegations of organised crime that we've seen elsewhere. I want to recognise the correspondence I've received from various subcontractors about the constructive role that the local ACT branch of the CFMEU has played on really important issues like security of payments. When the government decided to defund the ABCC and then roll its abolition into a much broader omnibus bill, I warned that we'd need to have a stronger regulator, one that could actually withstand the seesaw between Labor and the coalition that we've heard various independents talk about when it comes to the ABCC.

Worksites around the country are suffering, and insolvencies in the construction sector are at record highs. We need certainty on a path forward, and we also need a longer term solution that can attract support from across the parliament. I'm hopeful that by passing this legislation we can then turn our eyes to what that looks like. The depth and breadth of the allegations across other branches of the CFMEU mean we need action now. They demand action from the parliament, and this bill will do that. The amendments that have been circulated and the others being drafted will ensure a stronger piece of legislation that is tough but also fair. Those who have done the wrong thing will go; those who haven't won't, and there will be a fair process, with the appropriate powers for the administrator, while allowing legitimate operations in support of members to continue.

Again, thank you to both sides for the way you are collaborating on this, and I look forward to seeing what happens in the Senate tomorrow.