Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Women) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator O'Sullivan for his question. Despite the laughter from those on the other side, this is a very serious question because the building and construction industry in Australia is our third largest employer. We should be congratulating them for that. One million Australians rely on the building and construction sector within Australia for their jobs. The sector is crucial to the Australian economy and clearly, employing that many people, it is important to the Australian people.

We do know that there are certain cultural problems within the sector that cannot be ignored. These were highlighted recently with the release of the Australian Bureau of Statistics rates of industrial dispute. For example, 68 per cent of all work days lost during the December 2015 quarter were in the building and construction sector—that is, 68 per cent. The ABS data also shows that in the December quarter the rate of industrial dispute in the construction sector was over nine times the all-industries average. Let me put that in perspective. In the building and construction sector 16.7 days were lost per 1,000 employees. Compare that to the average of 1.8 working days across all industries. So 16.7 days in the building and construction sector compared to 1.8 days in all other industries. We on this side are concerned about the impact of that on productivity, growth and, ultimately, jobs for all Australians. These statistics are, quite frankly, staggering when you think that is 900 per cent over and above the all-industries average. (Time expired)