Jason Wood (La Trobe, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Education, representing the Minister for Employment. What is the government doing to uphold the rule of law in the construction industry and prevent infiltration by criminal elements? How will the government deal with the presence of outlaw bikie gangs on building sites?

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for La Trobe for his question and note his own long history in the police force in Victoria, where he was very much at the forefront of the fight against criminal gangs in that state.

The Australian community has been aghast over recent years, but particularly in recent weeks, at the stories that are emerging from whistleblowers, like this one in TheAge on 29 January 2014, 'Threat to kill whistleblower'; stories that have been appearing about standover tactics, standover merchants, the links between the CFMEU and bikie gangs and criminal elements; and stories about death threats, extortion, thuggery, kickbacks and corruption. And they are right to be aghast at these stories because of the damage that is being done to productivity but also because of the threats to law-abiding Australians by unacceptable behaviour from criminal bikie gangs and from the union elements that are out of control.

It is time to bring the rule of law back to building and construction sites around Australia, similarly to the way that the previous Liberal government did when it established the Australian Building and Construction Commission, which the next government, led by Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd and the then Minister for Workplace Relations, the now Leader of the Opposition, dismantled. He dismantled the Australian Building and Construction Commission, but there is a way to address this issue.

We have legislation before the parliament right now to re-establish the Australian Building and Construction Commission and to establish a Registered Organisations Commission, and we have announced a royal commission into union governance and corruption, all of which the Leader of the Opposition could support and all of which he is opposing. The problem with the Leader of the Opposition is that he cannot rise above his background. He is a union official supporting union officials. He is running a protection racket for a protection racket.

But he would say that he has a solution, because recently he said these words:

In a signal to the union movement that there could be a limit to his support, the Opposition Leader said he would call on the union leadership to ban the wearing of any bikie colours or badges by union members … on worksites.

So he is taking a tough stand on what the bikies wear at the worksites across Australia! He is not prepared to take a tough stand on thuggery and corruption and the behaviour of union leaders, but he is absolutely determined to make the bikies, when they turn up to the workplaces, take off their colours. They must be shaking in their boots at the prospect of the Leader of the Opposition being back in charge!

If he were serious, he would get out of the way of the government. He would support the ABCC, the ROC and the royal commission into union governance.