Dennis Jensen (Tangney, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. Would the minister update the House on the progress of the government’s reform of the building industry? Is the minister aware of recent comments that promote industrial conflict and unlawful behaviour; what is the minister’s response?

Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Tangney for his question. I can report to him and to the House that the government has made significant progress in bringing about much reform in Australia’s $50 billion building and construction industry. Indeed, in the March 2006 quarter, there was a record low rate of disputation recorded in the commercial construction industry.

Regrettably, this progress has not stopped the pattern of thuggery and intimidation by the CFMEU. Last week CFMEU members made threatening and profane comments to legal counsel in court in Perth. Worse than that, in the same week, CFMEU members made quite distasteful and inappropriate comments to a female journalist covering a rally in Perth. So here we have two more instances of the pattern of behaviour of these thugs in the CFMEU seeking, in one instance, to intimidate the courts in Western Australia and, in the other instance, seeking to intimidate a female journalist from the media within Perth. All of this was condoned by the President of the ACTU, Sharan Burrow, who both was in the court at the time the comments were made and also addressed the rally where these quite inappropriate comments were made to a female journalist.

On top of that, we hear absolutely nothing from the Leader of the Opposition, who has not said one word to condemn this intimidation. This is a pattern of behaviour by the Leader of the Opposition. First of all, he will not support the reforms to clean up the thuggery and the intimidation in the building and construction industry in Australia and then he will not condemn this intimidation which was going on as recently as last week—and why? Because the CFMEU has paid some $5 million to the Australian Labor Party over the last 10 years. This is unacceptable behaviour. We had the Leader of the Opposition in August speak in support of unionists who took unlawful industrial action on a Perth construction site in defiance of an Australian Industrial Relations Commission order that they return to work. During this rally the Leader of the Opposition made a quite extraordinary claim when he said that this was ‘an authorised piece of industrial action going on’.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Albanese interjecting

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Grayndler is warned!

Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is despite the fact that the Australian Industrial Relations Commission clearly ruled that the industrial action was unlawful and unauthorised and that it should cease in that circumstance. In one statement the Leader of the Opposition has shown, firstly, that he is not across the facts when it comes to these issues and, secondly, that he is prepared to undermine the authority and the reputation of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission and the Building Construction Commission—two independent bodies. He has shown that he supports unionists taking damaging economic action, as they have done with irresponsible, unlawful industrial action. He has shown that he would rather do the bidding of the union bosses for their $5 million than stand up for the $50 billion Australian building and construction industry.

He suggested that people should only obey the law if they respect that law. That is what the Leader of the Opposition suggested last week. It is quite shameful. It shows once again that he is weakly prepared to put vested interests ahead of the national interest.