Karen Grogan (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

What a fascinating debate we're having here. I'm sorry to see that Senator O'Sullivan can only manage to find one example in the seven-year history of the ABCC where it did something that was of note. I rise to, not surprisingly, speak in strong opposition to this so-called restoring integrity bill. The Building and Construction Industry (Restoring Integrity and Reducing Building Costs) Bill 2024 (No. 2) represents a significant step, you might even say a leap, backwards. It seeks to revive a discredited, politically motivated agenda that we have seen play out over many, many years. It is a clear attempt to reignite these old ideological battles at the expense of Australian workers because those opposite just cannot bear them.

Senator Bragg has been telling us this morning that there should be an inquiry to look into this bill. Well, most of what is in this bill—if not absolutely everything—has been prosecuted ad nauseam through Senate estimates for more than seven years by Labor senators. We have prosecuted the reality of what was happening at the ABCC and the absurd actions of the ABCC at estimates session after estimates session. If Senator Bragg's looking for something to do on the weekend, he might want to sit down with some of those transcripts and see what the facts around what was actually going on with that useless organisation are.

Let's be clear what this bill actually aims to do. It proposes to re-establish the ABCC. We abolished it. The Albanese Labor government abolished it proudly, alongside the unnecessary and punitive building code. The ABCC was never about ensuring integrity or reducing costs. It was about wielding power against unions. That's it. It was about attacking the unions and discrediting workers. The hard-won rights of workers in this country should be protected. But all those opposite did in the nine years that they were in government was attack them, and they used the ABCC as the battering ram with which to do that.

As for some of the commentary over there about protection rackets and such like, I want to put on the record that I will stand in this place every single day and defend unions—defend the right of workers in this country to be a member of the union and for those unions to fight for those workers' rights, to stand up for the safety and wellbeing and the wages of workers across this country in every industry. And that includes the CFMEU. So here's a shout-out to all those people in the CFMEU who have never done a corrupt thing in their life, who have never bullied or harassed anyone. Here's a shout-out to those people who are working hard, in an industry that is tough, to protect the workers in that industry. I do not stand for any corruption, abuse or harassment, but I assure you the majority of the people in the CFMEU do not fall into that category.

The ABCC's track record speaks for itself. It was far more concerned with punishing workers and unions than ever addressing any of the real issues that we see out there, such as wage theft and safety standards—none of that. There was the laser focused obsession with trivial matters, wasting taxpayers' money—thousands and thousands of taxpayers' money spent pursuing idiotic issues like stickers on hats or people having a cup of tea, and also pursuing the CFMEU over trying to get toilets for women on a worksite. Come on! Seriously? No wonder you're all looking down. This is just ridiculous. You're trying to bring back an ideological battle that doesn't need to be had. It doesn't need to be had.