Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development) Share this | Hansard source

I want to be really, really clear. The amendments that the coalition will put forward, the 20 recommendations for changes that need to be made to this legislation to put the CFMEU into administration, need to be adopted, because we do not want this bill, the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment (Administration) Bill 2024, to become a back door for bikies and organised crime to continue to control the CFMEU organisation and have an impact on worksites around this country.

I heard Minister Watt on Patricia Karvelas's show this morning refute the fact that CFMEU projects are 30 per cent more expensive for the taxpayer than other projects. This is a fact, Minister. It is classic Labor strategy to state your preferred outcome over reality and evidence based requirements, but, in this instance, if you say you're going to clean up the CFMEU then you need to put some muscle into it, right? That means adopting our 20 recommendations, which are about transparency and accountability.

The administrator must be able to compel officers, employees and delegates to not associate with organised crime or outlaw motorcycle groups. It sounds pretty stock standard. Why does the Labor Party not want to put that type of amendment forward? The administrator needs to have the ability to renegotiate EBAs so that we have a sustainable construction sector. These are sensible amendments being put forward by the coalition. We need them adopted by the Labor Party so we can get the CFMEU into administration as soon as possible. (Time expired)