Guy Barnett (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Senator Abetz. Will the minister outline to the Senate the importance of the Cole royal commission and the subsequent Australian Building and Construction Commission in delivering real and positive outcomes for Australian workers and their families. Is the minister aware of any threat to the ongoing maintenance of these benefits?

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can I thank Senator Barnett for his question and commend him for his strong and ongoing interest in cleaning up Australia’s building and construction sector. Everyone knows that the Howard government’s strong action in establishing the Cole commission of inquiry and the Australian Building and Construction Commission has been crucial in this clean-up—organisations that Labor opposed and would abolish if they ever got into government. The clean-up is paying dividends. A recent Econtech report shows that GDP is 1.5 per cent higher than it otherwise would have been because of this clean-up in the building and construction sector. There has been an average fall in construction costs of 5.2 per cent. That means cheaper roads and cheaper homes for Australians. But the good news does not stop there. Not only do people get cheaper roads and cheaper homes as a result of our reforms; importantly, the consumer price index is now a whole 1.2 per cent lower because of these reforms, and that, of course, is reducing pressure on interest rates. If Labor were to get into power, they would abolish the commission and all these activities would resume, and the consumer price index would once again increase by one per cent to 1.2 per cent.

Unfortunately, Labor threatens all these benefits because Labor’s union masters think that the ABCC should be abolished, giving the unions, once again, unfettered access to do as they please on our building sites. And Labor will abolish the ABCC so union thugs can do things like, ‘kick heads to sort out locals’, ‘block access to work sites during a concrete pour’ and ‘black list subcontractors because they refuse to have a union enforced EBA’—all actions endorsed by the Labor Party because the man who did all these activities, as found by the Cole commission of inquiry, was none other than ETU official Kevin Harkins. He is the Labor candidate for Franklin and he is endorsed by the federal leader, Mr Rudd. Desperate to get rid of the bad headlines that Mr Harkins is making, Mr Rudd is not simply willing to disendorse him; Labor, rather, is now resorting to trying to break the law by quietly trying to shuffle him on. Indeed, according to today’s Mercury:

Despite offers of an elevated union position, increased salary and a future Senate seat, Mr Harkins is determined not to quit voluntarily.

The Commonwealth Electoral Act says:

(2)       A person shall not, with the intention of influencing or affecting

                  …              …              …

(b)           any candidature of another person; or

                  …              …              …

give or confer, or promise or offer to give or confer, any property or benefit of any kind to that other person ...

I understand that Senator Barnett has in fact written to the Australian Electoral Commission today with these matters, and I will be very interested to look at that report.

When Mr Rudd started weeding the garden by getting rid of Mr Mighell for bad language, he realised that, once he had started weeding and he kept on, there would be no plants left in the garden, because he would have to deal with Mr Harkins. (Time expired)

Guy Barnett (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. The minister referred to the Australian Building and Construction Commission. He also referred to the Australian Electoral Commission. I ask the minister to provide further and better particulars on the concerns he has raised with respect to the Australian Electoral Commission and the evidence that he has put to the Senate.

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Barnett is absolutely right. These are matters of great importance that the Labor Party seek to laugh at. But the reality is that these have been costing Australians extra in road construction and home construction, and impacting on our inflation rate. We are getting rid of these sorts of rorts, but of course the Labor Party oppose that. Mr Rudd has told the Australian people that he has a zero-tolerance policy in relation to illegal behaviour. No, he has not. If he did, he would be disendorsing Mr Harkins and he would be dealing with Joe McDonald. He has not done that. Do you know who the only person he has been dealing with is? Mr Harry Quick, the member for Franklin. Why is he being dealt with? Because Labor has a zero-tolerance policy on people telling the truth about the trade union influence in the Australian Labor Party.