Interview with Matt Shirvington, Sunrise

Event: Interview with Matt Shirvington, Sunrise
Date: 20 August 2024, 7.17am AEST
Speakers: Denita Wawn, CEO Master Builders Australia
Topics: CFMEU Administration
E&OE

Matt Shirvington, host, Sunrise: Major changes could be on the way for the cost of building a new home in Australia too, with new laws set to reshape the face of our construction industry. Under the legislation, all branches of the militant CFMEU could be forced into administration as early as next week. It follows allegations of corruption and bikie infiltration within the controversial union. So, what does it mean for anyone hoping to build a new home, or, of course, the thousands of tradies working in the industry? For more, Denita Wawn from the Master Builders Association joins us now. Good morning to you. Break it all down for us. If the CFMEU is forced into administration, what does it mean for building costs and the industry at large?

Denita Wawn, CEO Master Builders Australia: Good morning. Well, first of all, the CFMEU Construction Division, all of its branches, as well as the national office, will go into administration probably as early as next week. The immediate impact will be that all officials will be terminated, that’s our understanding, and we hope that will stop the thuggery, intimidation, that is happening on our building sites. Meaning that people that are wanting to enter the industry, but have been concerned about the CFMEU practices, can feel safe in looking at our industry as a career. We also know that the CFMEU pattern agreements have been increasing costs, and the new round of agreements have increases in them, and also restrictive practices that certainly drive up the cost of building, particularly residential high rise building, for those homeowners looking to buy their first home.

Matt: That’s really interesting, just say that again about the tradies, so you’re saying that potentially, with the CFMEU going into administration, it could bring more tradespeople to the industry?

Denita: That’s right, Shirvo. We’ve identified there’s a massive shortage of people entering into the industry, if we’re going to build those 1.2 million homes over five years that the government has alluded to and want to build, then we need more tradies. And we know that the issues with the CFMEU, the thuggery, the intimidation, we’ve now seen alleged criminal behaviour, anti-competitive behaviour, has been precluding people coming into the industry. And we hope that this clean up, that will start from day one, will ensure that people are willing to give us a second chance. Absolutely. So we encourage people to look at the industry. We want to clean up the culture of the industry, and this is a start of a process, that will take years for the industry as a whole, to rebuild the culture.

Matt: So with more tradies, does that mean building costs could come down?

Denita: That’s right. We certainly know that the reason why building costs, that are now 30 to 40 per cent higher than pre-covid, are in part because of a shortage of labour, but also industrial relations. So if you fix those two then we should hopefully have a significant easing in costs over the next couple of years, which is good news for the consumers out there.

Matt: That’s really positive, Denita thanks for your insight. Really appreciate it.

Denita: Pleasure. Thank you, Shirvo.

Media contact:
Dee Zegarac
National Director, Media & Public Affairs
0400 493 071
dee.zegarac@masterbuilders.com.au