Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

'God forgives. The CFMEU does not' might be not only all over the media this week, tattooed around the neck of the CFMEU thug John Setka, along with all of his other bikie tattoos and symbols, but it is also tattooed in the hearts and emblazoned in the minds of all CFMEU officials. Make absolutely no mistake about that. It's tattooed on some of their bodies. It's on their T-shirts, their hoodies, their bumper stickers, their flags, along with the slogan 'Whatever it takes'. It's not 'Whatever it takes legally'; it is simply 'Whatever it takes' in any way possible to achieve their means. These two statements taken together summarise the CFMEU in every way that is abhorrent to the values of Australians and that is abhorrent and contrary to the laws of our land, to our ethics and to our morals. And yet not only have those opposite turned a blind eye; they have taken active steps to encourage and allow this behaviour to flourish once again.

There is no question that for many years those opposite—in fact most Australians who read the paper or watch the news will know that the CFMEU is consumed by, is riddled with, criminals and bikies. It's going about its daily business, using bikies to intimidate and to threaten other hardworking Australians on work sites and building sites right across this country. It is unacceptable, yet those opposite know it, they facilitate it and they encourage it. Well, this is the day and this is the bill to say enough is enough. This is not something we are going to walk past anymore. It is not something we're going to turn a blind eye to simply because they have contributed over $6 million in campaign assistance to the Australian Labor Party—13 pieces of silver which are costing our nation dearly.

In Western Australia we have UnionsWA saying: 'Oh, there's nothing to see here. Come back to us when you've got credible evidence.' We've got the Premier saying: 'Oh well, there were some problems, but they're historical problems. Let's not worry about that.' I'll tell you what; that is cowardice and that is not leadership.

In WA we are clearly now being taken back to the bad old days of the 1980s, and Labor, federal and state, are actively encouraging and letting this happen to appease—I was going to say to appease their union mates, but they are not just mates; they are their national masters. Today in the West Australian, which for years has been full of stories about bikies and their associations with trade union movements, particularly the CFMEU, they have absolute evidence of this, yet the Premier and UnionsWA, and Minister Watt, are saying: 'Nothing to see here. We'll introduce this almost ineffective'—or completely ineffective as it currently stands—'legislation.' I would implore every Western Australian and every Western Australian senator in this place to go and read the West Australian today just to see how pervasive bikies still are in the CFMEU.

The CFMEU don't have bikies on their payroll to bake cakes for them or to give them a ride on their Harley-Davidsons. They have them in there to intimidate and to conduct criminal activities on their behalf. In Western Australia it is particularly of concern. And it shouldn't just be of concern to Western Australians—to those who are working in our mine sites across our state—because the harder you make it for Western Australian workers, and Western Australian mining companies in particular, impacts on the rest of the nation and how we can afford to pay for our education, our health and our criminal justice system.

Let me give you some examples of what's been happening in Western Australia. Just this week, on BHP mine sites, we've had unions turning up unannounced to start holding our state's economy to ransom. The CME Western Australia chief executive officer Rebecca Tomkinson has said, 'It is unthinkable, at this critical juncture of WA's role in the energy transition, if the militant unions send us backwards.' The Minerals Council of Australia has said this move is of grave concern to the Australian economy. Along with this chaos in the mining and construction industries, Fremantle port is facing two days of closures this weekend, when workers will walk off the job to demand another incredibly large pay increase. WA's union crisis is slowly turning Australia into a 'state of the union'. It is a blast from the past. The bad old days of the 1980s, which we had hoped, in Western Australia and nationally, would never return are coming back all too quickly, facilitated by those opposite who currently reside on the government benches.

What's Labor's role in all of this? This bill is a direct result of them rolling over to the CFMEU and abolishing the ABCC, the Australian Building and Construction Commission. The only beneficiary of that was the CFMEU. It was certainly not to the benefit of Australian workers or Australians who are already struggling to afford to build houses, to afford their mortgages and to get themselves into their own homes. This legislation has come about squarely because of the abolition of the ABCC. As a result of that—surprise, surprise!—we've seen a significant increase in criminal activity, threats, corruption, bribery, intimidation, violence, bullying, standover tactics, the misappropriation of funds, theft and other accusations of lawlessness by the CFMEU right across the construction sector. Again, it's hardly a surprise. Those opposite, when they got rid of the ABCC, can't possibly credibly claim that John Setka, the CFMEU officials and their bikies would not revert to type, and, of course, they have.

The Albanese government knew this would happen. They were warned this would happen, but they abolished the ABCC anyway. We believed—and we still believe—that there should have been an inquiry into this bill to hear from the department, the Fair Work Commission and the building sector itself on how this bill would operate. That is the role of this place; that is the role of this Senate. Yet again the government is denying the Senate the opportunity to do our job.

Minister Watt himself has spent his entire time in this place being the CFMEU's biggest cheerleader. I remember quite clearly how, at Senate estimates, he would mercilessly attack the building regulator who dared hold his mates at the CFMEU to account and to the law of this land. He achieved his lifelong dream in abolishing the ABCC and giving John Setka, a most despicable human being, control of the construction sector in Australia. So make no mistake: this legislation is a direct result not just of the incompetence of those opposite but also of their inability to stand up, be leaders, govern for all Australians and stand up to the worst of the worst in the trade union movement, the CFMEU.

I think there is no question that the PM made this choice to change workplace laws because he got $6.2 million from his mates and his comrades in the CFMEU. Unfortunately, all Australians are now paying the price for this. The CFMEU construction division were bad before, even under the ABCC, but, in a few short years under this government, they have taken their lawlessness, their bikie activities and their intimidation to a whole new level.

What does this cost Australians? What does it cost Western Australians? Australians are now paying 30 per cent more for major projects on their homes, on other buildings and on infrastructure generally. Why does that matter to them? It's not just about their own home; it's because their taxpayer dollars are getting 30 per cent less infrastructure for hospitals, roads and all other vital infrastructure projects.

In relation to this legislation, the Albanese government is not telling the truth when it says that this legislation will clean up the scandal plagued construction sector. There are more holes in this legislation than you'd probably see in a piece of swiss cheese. It rather conveniently provides the minister, the CFMEU's chief cheerleader, with far too much power and discretion, and, with the stroke of a pen, their biggest cheerleader can end the administration early. For example—heaven forbid—if Labor were re-elected, they could end the administration the day after the election. Not surprisingly, the bill doesn't talk about any links to the $6.2 million of donations to the Labor Party and future donations to the Labor Party by the CFMEU. In fact, this bill is so weak it could well have been written by John Setka himself, and maybe it was.

We also need to amend this bill to ensure that this administration will apply to all of the CFMEU's construction divisions, not just a select few. It must apply to Western Australia, and, if UnionsWA and Premier Cook do not think that there is any contemporaneous evidence of the CFMEU's malfeasance, bullying, intimidation, corruption and bikie affiliations, they are completely and utterly wilfully blind. Just look at the West Australian today for evidence of that. Currently, this bill sunsets after three years, regardless of what may or may not have been achieved by the administrator. But this legislation also must, by our amendment, make sure that political donations cannot be made by the CFMEU and that they cannot run political campaigns on behalf of any political party here in this country.

This legislation was brought on by the Labor Party abolishing the ABCC and deliberately allowing the CFMEU to run riot. They've been forced into this legislation, but they've presented legislation that will have no practical impact and that allows the chief cheerleader and supporter of the CFMEU over the years to, with a single stroke of a pen at any time, end the administration. This is not leadership. This is not political courage. This is the basest of all political actions and expediency. This country deserves so much better than this bill, and it is so important.

We have to set the standard in this place, and, where we see corruption, thuggery, intimidation and a real and practical impact on the Australian economy and on Australian homebuyers, everybody in this chamber has to stand up and say the law applies to us all—to all Australians. It is time to accept our amendments.