Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Warringah for her comment with reference to the Fair Work Commission Bill. It's worth pointing out that the leader of the Liberal Party this week moved in the House of Representatives one of two bills to bring before the House, and that was to restore the Australian Building and Construction Commission and, in a separate bill, to enhance the integrity measures to combat criminality at our nation's building sites. Hopefully, we can rely on the support of the member for Warringah when those two bills come into the House.

At the next election, I suggest that Australians will be making a decision on which government they can trust. When you see the behaviour of the CFMEU and the near-on indistinguishable relationship that exists between that body and the Australian Labor Party, it is palpable. We saw this week, or some weeks back, when this issue was raised, a conga line of Labor ministers going to the dispatch box and saying, 'We had no idea that this behaviour was happening in the CFMEU.' When it comes to the Australian public trusting the Australian Labor Party or trusting the coalition, there is only one side of this House that can clean up the mess that's before us. It's disappointing that the bill has been guillotined and that the list of speakers has been shortened. It's worth noting that no speakers from the government side got to their feet to speak to this, other than when the bill was introduced by the Manager of Government Business.

Whilst we absolutely support the bill, I fear—looking back at the old BLF some 40 years ago—that whilst this bill is endeavouring to go somewhere, the rubber will hit the road when these other two bills return the Building and Construction Commission watchdog onto the block. It's worth noting that the former Federal Police Assistant Commissioner, Mark Neil, said on 60 Minutes, when asked who was policing the construction industry in Australia at the moment: 'There's no-one at the moment. It's in a vacant space, and there's a gap there.' For us to really fix the problems in front of us, we need to return that watchdog.

I'm glad that the recommendations that have come forward are that the donations coming out of the CFMEU be revisited. One has to ask, of the $6.2 million that has gone previously, what was the return? What was the transaction? What was needed by the CFMEU in return for that investment? To take you back two years, the first order of business, when the government was appointed to come into this place, was to abolish the Australian Building and Construction Commission. That was their first order of business. When a conga line of ministers is suggesting that they had no idea, but they took the $6.2 million, it is just difficult to comprehend.

This bill before the House is nothing more than Labor setting a torch to the building and then wanting to have a hero's welcome because they called the fire brigade to come and put it out. This is window dressing. I'd suggest that you watch this space over the next couple of years, because I don't think we're going to see the systemic behaviour shift until the adults are back in charge and the behaviour of allocating contracts by Labor state premiers to CFMEU shops stops. That has to stop. The connection between the CFMEU and the Australian Labor Party is indistinguishable. You can't trust the CFMEU. At the next election you can't trust the Australian Labor Party.

We commend this bill to the House. It could go further. I want to acknowledge Senator Cash for the work she did in putting in 21 amendments to give it some more strength, but I will watch with bated breath as to how this is reinforced.

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