Jane Hume (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

This debate isn't just about politics; it's about the very fabric of our society. It's about our economy. It's about our values. It's about what we hold dear. It's about exposing the rot that lies at the heart of a union, a union that is a pillar, indeed a key pillar, of the Albanese government—a government that dares to claim the moral high ground while swimming in the cesspool of corruption and lawlessness that has been demonstrated within the CFMEU. Minister Watt, the newly minted IR minister, was right in one thing. He said this morning that there is no time to waste. Well, he is absolutely right. There is no time to delay. There's no time to delay because the cost of living in this country is spiralling out of control.

I've travelled the length and breadth of the country as the chair of the cost-of-living committee and those opposite may not have heard it yet, but everyday Australians are doing it really tough. Really tough! But what do we see? We see a government that is not just complicit but is actively feeding the beast of inflation through turning a blind eye to the poor behaviour that has gone on in this union.

Government spending is a key driver of inflation, there's no doubt about that. You don't need to believe me, because the Reserve Bank governor, Michele Bullock, has been saying it too. Government spending is a key driver of inflation, but, when that government spending is tainted by the corrupt dealings of the CFMEU, the impact is catastrophic. The CFMEU has been involved in criminal activities that would make even the most hardened crooks blush—bribery, intimidation, violence and outright corruption. You don't need to take my word for it; you can take the word of senior, experienced journalists writing for the Age and the Sydney Morning Herald and reporting to Channel 9.

What has the ALP done about this? Instead of rooting out the cancer, they've actually coddled it, nurtured it, let it grow and let it fester, all the while telling people that union corruption is simply in the coalition's heads and saying: 'It's fine. Nothing's going on. Nothing to see here.' Every time a CFMEU official bullies their way through a worksite, every time they misappropriate funds and every time they engage in thuggish, standover tactics, it costs all of us money. The flow-on effect feeds the inflation beast. It drives up the cost of government projects, which means your taxes are higher than they need to be. It pushes up the cost of living, and the government have been complicit in this. The ALP, far from acting as the moral compass of the nation, has been right there, cheering them on from the sidelines. Again, they're not my words; it has been reported in the newspapers.

The cost is not just financial, although the cost is no doubt staggering. Labour productivity in the construction sector has plummeted by 18.1 per cent since 2014, and the decline is no coincidence. It's a direct result of the CFMEU's corrosive influence on the industry. By obstructing work, imposing costly conditions and encouraging lawlessness on worksites, the CFMEU has added 30 per cent to the cost of major projects. That's money that could've gone to hospitals. It's money that could've gone to roads and to schools. But, instead, because of the CFMEU, it's money that's gone to this lawless union. It's taxpayer money siphoned off to cover the cost of union thuggery and mismanagement. Who foots the bill? It's every single one of us. It's every taxpayer—every family trying to buy a home and every small business trying to stay afloat. This is not a small deal.

Let me talk about my home state of Victoria, where this corruption has been allowed to flourish for years under the watch of former premier Daniel Andrews and his successor, Premier Jacinta Allan. The Victorian government's Big Build projects have become a monument to waste and a monument to inefficiency and cronyism. They are synonymous with corruption. What should have been a proud investment in my state's future has become instead a black hole for taxpayer dollars. The cost blowouts are staggering—$40 billion and counting. This is the most profound economic waste and mismanagement by a government that we have seen in this country in decades.

Why is this happening? Well, (1) it's complete and utter incompetence; and (2) it's because the ALP have allowed the CFMEU to dictate the terms of contracts, to bully, to intimidate and to prioritise their own interests over the needs of Victorians. The figures don't lie. The blowouts, the waste and the inefficiency are directly contributing to the cost-of-living crisis—not only for people in Victoria but for everyone in our nation. Every dollar wasted on a bloated contract is a project delayed by union interference. It's a dollar that could've been spent on those schools, hospitals and roads and on a better standard of living for all of us. But, instead, because the ALP turned a blind eye to this, we are all paying the price. It's going into the pockets of union officials and their cronies, all with the ALP's blessing.

But there is hope. In Victoria we have a leader that is fighting back every single day in the state parliament. John Pesutto and the Liberal opposition are holding this government to account. The government are refusing to answer questions; even in question time they are refusing to answer questions about this. But John Pesutto is doing his job, exposing the truth about the CFMEU's stranglehold on our state's construction industry and demanding real action to clean up the mess. It's thanks to his efforts, continually calling out the behaviour, that the public is finally starting to see the rot that is at the heart of the Victorian and, indeed, the Australian governments. For as long as the Australian government is still taking donations from the CFMEU, as long as it's not returning the donations that it's already accepted, this is the standard its accepts.

John Pesutto has made it very clear that under his leadership Victoria will no longer be a playground for corrupt union officials. He's committed to replacing the oversight functions lost by the Albanese government's abolition of the ABCC, the Australian Building and Construction Commission, with a new body called construction enforcement Victoria. That will ensure that Victorian construction, at least, will operate with integrity and efficiency. He understands that the CFMEU's influence has to be eradicated if we're going to restore confidence in our state's infrastructure projects and deliver real value for taxpayers, because surely that is our first job. His commitment to a royal commission on the CFMEU's activities in Victoria will ensure that those responsible for this mess are held to account.

The ALP pretend they have only just discovered this rot—'Oh, deary me! There's something going on the CFMEU? Who would have thought?' They act as though this is brand-new information to them, but let's be really clear: the ALP have known this all along. It's been problem, a secret, that's been hiding in plain sight. They were warned about the corruption, they were warned about the violence, they were warned about the intimidation and they did nothing. In fact, they did worse than nothing: they actively defended it. They even promoted it. They fed the beast. Corruption begins at home, and for Premier Jacinta Allan that could not be more true, considering her husband is a former CFMEU official. Tell me: how convenient is it for the Victorian Premier to turn a blind eye to the rot when it has been so close to home!

The ALP would have us believe that they are the guardians of moral integrity, the defenders of the downtrodden. But let's look at the facts. This is the same party that turned a blind eye to the criminal behaviour of men who are not just corrupt but violently so. We all know the story of John Setka, the man who plead guilty to harassing his own wife but who was then coddled and cuddled and protected not just by men in the Labor movement but by women too, women who have claimed to be advocates of women and who should have known better. This is a man who is a blight on the labour movement, a man who has been allowed to rise to power and influence under the watchful eye of the ALP's umbrella, warm in its embrace.

Now the Prime Minister and the ALP will tell us that they've taken a strong stance, strong action, by suspending the CFMEU, but let's be clear: they've only suspended the union in states and territories where elections are not on the horizon. Isn't that funny? Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia have all been conveniently excluded from the suspension. Why is that? Because the ALP will take the CFMEU's 30 pieces of silver. They will take the 30 pieces of silver to betray every other state in the Commonwealth. They'll cut ties with the CFMEU but only when it is convenient to do so.

What about their promises of reform? Well, the ALP say they will investigate, they will inquire, they will clean up the mess, but let's not kid ourselves. The Victorian Labor government and the Greens—the Greens, those heroes of fairness and apparent decency!—have treated the calls for these same investigations in Victoria with nothing but arrogance and contempt. Do we really expect anything different from our national government? I hope we do. For as long as the Labor Party pocket CFMEU donations, as long as they allow construction sites to operate without a watchdog, they are as morally bankrupt is the CFMEU itself.

Let's be very clear. The Albanese Labor government is now desperate to fix a mess that was directly created by abolishing the ABCC. It was directly created by giving control of the construction sector to their mates in the CFMEU, and the result of that has been a surge in criminal activity—threats, corruption, lawlessness—that has added 30 per cent to the cost of major projects, driving up inflation and hurting everyday Australians.

The Albanese government were warned that this would happen. They were warned, but they abolished the ABCC anyway. Who was asking for that abolition of the ABCC? Was it ordinary Australians? Was it parents with kids starting out in trades? Was it the coalition? Who was asking for the abolition of the ABCC? Only one group was—the CFMEU. They were the only organisation that wanted to see poor behaviour on construction worksites. Abolishing the ABCC was the first thing the Prime Minister did when he came into office, and he did it to the cheers of his mates. Why? Because they wanted to enable the CFMEU, not investigate it, not curtail its activities. They wanted it to flourish.

Let's be honest. They're trying to now pass legislation to fix the damage that they caused, but it doesn't go far enough; it goes nowhere near far enough. We need an inquiry to hear from the department, the Fair Work Commission and stakeholders about how this legislation will operate and whether it will actually be effective. The coalition has some serious concerns about this bill. It gives the minister far too much discretion over the administration process. Under the legislation, the minister could stop the administration at any time he chooses. Even if he doesn't choose to stop it, it's only got three years to run. At the end of three years, even if there are still problems with the CFMEU, the administration ceases. That's nonsense. It's acceptable.

We also need to ensure that the administration applies to all of the CFMEU's construction divisions, not just a select few. We need to ensure that the process is transparent and that it must report directly and regularly to parliament. The legislation should set clear objectives for how the CFMEU needs to change before it's taken out of administration. At the moment, this bill, sunsetting after three years as it does—regardless of whether anything is actually achieved—could potentially make no difference whatsoever. That's why the coalition are moving amendments. That's why we want to see changes to this bill. That's why we want to see it strengthened.

Critically, this legislation must ensure that the CFMEU cannot make political donations or run political campaigns while it's in administration. The government has known our concerns about this bill for around 48 hours, and it could have passed this bill in minutes. So when Minister Watt says, 'There is no time to delay,' that is on him. He could come in here right now and pass this bill immediately. But he cannot do it until those positions are strengthened, until the bill that we adopt is one that is actually going to have some effect.

If they don't adopted the changes, it's proof of the fact that the Labor Party not only are complicit in this corruption of one of the biggest and most powerful unions in the country but continue to enable the rot that has cost all Australians so dearly.