Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Hansard source

In an attempt to satisfy their union paymasters, the Green-Labor government abolished the ABCC. It stripped the new regulator of its powers, took a meat axe to its funding, cutting it by 30 per cent, and cut penalties that could be imposed by two-thirds. The bad old days were back. In the first full year of Labor's toothless mouse, working days lost to industrial action in the building and construction sector tripled. Under Labor the Australian public have now witnessed the ugly public displays of industrial violence and union thuggery at Baiada Poultry, Brisbane Children's Hospital, Myer Emporium, Little Creatures and City West Water. The government has a mandate to remove Labor's unconscionable protection racket and restore the rule of law on construction sites across the country. With your— (Time expired)