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Last night’s exposé revealed yet again the rot that continues to fester around elements of the CFMEU and parts of the building and construction industry.
Master Builders has said it from day one: placing the CFMEU into administration was only the start. The evidence is now overwhelming: the Administrator cannot be left to clean up this mess alone.
Master Builders fully supports the Administration’s efforts to restore integrity and accountability to the union and the wider industry.
In his bi-annual report, Administrator Mark Irving makes a sobering point:
The work that the Administration is undertaking to reform the Union can only take the Union so far. The problems across the industry are myriad and the Administration and the Union has neither the responsibility nor the resources to fix all of them. Governments, employer bodies, regulators and law enforcement all have a role to play.
Police forces and regulatory agencies are still hamstrung by laws and resource constraints that stop them sharing vital intelligence about criminal activity in the sector and actively pursuing bad actors.
Governments cannot continue to look the other way or pretend that administration alone will stamp out this toxic culture of intimidation, coercion and alleged criminality that has plagued the industry for years.
Master Builders is again calling for decisive action, specifically the establishment of a dedicated cross-jurisdictional police taskforce within the AFP to coordinate and lead law enforcement efforts in the construction sector.
Competition laws must also be enforced without fear or favour:
- Provisions covering cartel and secondary boycott behaviour must apply in the industrial context.
- Enterprise agreements in the building and construction industry must be recognised as contracts or arrangements under competition law.
- Regulators must have the powers and backing to enforce these laws.
There is no place for crime, corruption or coercion in Australia’s building and construction industry. Workers, businesses, and communities deserve better and they deserve it now.
Media contact: Dee Zegarac, National Director, External Affairs and Engagement
0400 493 071 | dee.zegarac@masterbuilders.com.au