Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the shadow minister for his question. From the outset, I reject the assertions that were in that question. But what might help him is for me to go through some of the actions that both the administrator and the regulators have taken during the 16 months that the administration has been in place.

First, I would note that, as I previously said, the administrator's difficult work to date has been to remove or to accept the resignations of 60 staff, over two-thirds of whom were in leadership positions. Of course, the administrator has made it absolutely clear where the union stands on expectations of staff, and the new code of conduct has been very clear about what the consequences will be. The administration has received over 500 complaints under its anonymous whistleblowing process, and it has been working very closely with the joint agency working group that consists of the Fair Work Ombudsman, Fair Work Commission, various police forces and other regulators in various jurisdictions. The administrator has also made specific referrals of criminal conduct to the Victorian and New South Wales police forces and referrals of contraventions of the industrial legislation to the regulatory agencies. The administration has established an integrity unit. It engages investigations and barristers to conduct inquiries into defined matters. The administration has commissioned leading independent corruption expert Geoffrey Watson to undertake multiple detailed investigations and has taken appropriate action based on those reports, referring many matters to regulators and law enforcement.

In addition to the work that the administrator is taking, our regulators and law enforcement agencies are doing their job. The Fair Work Ombudsman is undertaking significant compliance and enforcement action in relation to misconduct in the construction industry by both unions and employers. As of 12 September 2025, the Fair Work Ombudsman is progressing 19 investigations in relation to multiple branches of the Construction and General Division of the CFMEU. There's Operation Rye, which was established to assess information and coordinate investigation of allegations related to the criminal offending of the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union, and the AFP is chair of the joint agency working group. So, quite frankly, to suggest that our government is not doing anything when it comes to crime and corruption in the building industry—I can reassure this House that we have done more in our term in government than those on the other side. We are taking this seriously. The shadow minister might want to pretend he's in university politics, throwing around accusations; meanwhile, we are the adults in the room and will continue to be so. (Time expired)

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