Interview with Stephen Cenatiempo, 2CC Canberra Radio

Event: Interview with Stephen Cenatiempo, 2CC Canberra Radio

Date: 20 August 2024, 7.35am AEST
Speakers: Denita Wawn, CEO Master Builders Australia
Topics: CFMEU Administration

Stephen Cenatiempo, host 2CC Canberra Radio: As I mentioned this morning, the Coalition and the Government have come to an agreement on a bill to introduce or put the CFMEU under administration. Now the Coalition seems to think that they’ve made the bill better, but it doesn’t go far enough. Master Builders has welcomed the additional measures to clean up the industry. And Denita Wawn is the CEO of Master Builders Australia, and joins us now.

Denita Wawn, CEO Master Builders Australia: Good morning, Stephen, as always.

Stephen: Are you happy with this legislation? Because, I mean, you and I probably differ on the, and I know, I understand your position, that you think deregistering the union is problematic because something else worse will rise up in its, in its place, but I’m just not convinced that the CFMEU in its current form can be cleaned up.

Denita: Well, Stephen, I’m optimistic. I think there’s two issues here. First and foremost is that we have now an administrator for a minimum of three years across the country to clean it up. The workers in the union, the workers of the industry, deserve a union that represents them, that represents them lawfully. I think the other important issue is we did not support deregistration because there are provisions in the Act that say that the CFMEU deregistered could still act in the industrial relations team, and we did not need that. We don’t want it. But this is just the first step, it’s not the only step. We’ve now got to advocate for a bigger, better regulator, so by the time the CFMEU gets out of administration, we have laws that ensure that the special nature of the industry, these types of things just don’t happen again. Four Royal Commission have called for it, and we’ll continue to call for it.

Stephen: Peter Dutton has introduced a couple of private members bills to reinstitute the ABCC, the Australian Building and Construction Commission. I know that you’ve called for that, but the argument that the Government seems to be making against this is that the ABCC didn’t have the teeth it needed. Surely, it’s as simple as saying, well, okay, we’ll give it the teeth it needs.

Denita: Absolutely, and certainly from our perspective the ABCC was good, but it didn’t go far enough. The ABCC only looked after industrial relations laws, and we’ve seen from all the media reports in the last month or two, this is more than that. This is about criminal behaviour. This is about anti-competitive behaviour. This is about governance issues of our sector, and as such we have consistently called for a regulator that covers all of the issues. The nature of the industry, with its contracting and tight deadlines, means that it’s ripe for problems. Four Royal Commissions have said you need a special regulator with more teeth, so bizarrely enough, the Government and the Coalition are both right. We need to combine their thinking and make sure that we do get the special regulator that we really deserve.

Stephen: Do you get a sense that they can come to a compromise on this like they did on the administration legislation?

Denita: You know, wonders never cease. Industrial relations is always the bastion of the philosophical differences between the two parties, but they have seen what is right for the industry and right for the community, and that is our job as the lobbyist for the industry is to make sure that the Coalition and the Government again come together and look at a special regulator. This is going to be critical to work out while administration is underway.

Stephen: Just out of curiosity, we know that union membership on the whole is less than 15 per cent across the workforce these days. What is that ratio in the building industry?

Denita: Certainly, from a private sector point of view, it sits at around about eight to ten per cent. That is pretty consistent with private sector union membership, so it’s low. And you know, certainly from our perspective, we are a union of employers. The CFMEU is a union of workers. We would hope that every single organisation, whether they’re employers or unions, are complying with the law representing their members in the best interest as possible, and doing the best thing for the industry that we all work for.

Stephen: Denita, great to talk to you again this morning.

Denita: Thank you.

Stephen: Denita Wawn, CEO of Master Builders Australia.

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