Senate debates
Wednesday, 27 August 2014
Questions without Notice
Building and Construction Industry
2:53 pm
Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
My question is to the Minister for Employment, Senator Abetz. Will the minister inform the Senate of the importance for the building and construction industry of re-establishing the Australian Building and Construction Commission?
Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
The success of the building industry is important for jobs and our economy. It is unfortunate that this industry, which represents eight per cent of GDP, is being hampered by inefficient and unproductive practices and a culture in which certain elements flagrantly disregard the rule of law. This is why the government has committed itself to re-establishing the Australian Building and Construction Commission. When the commission first existed, it helped the building and construction sector to increase productivity by 10 per cent, providing an annual economic welfare gain to the Australian people of $5,500 million per year. It reduced inflation by 1.2 per cent, increased GDP by 1.5 per cent—
Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
and caused a significant reduction in days lost through industrial action.
Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
I raise a point of order, Mr President. Senator Abetz is misleading the Senate—absolutely misleading the Senate.
Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
That is a debating point. There is no point of order.
Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Like Senator Cameron, the ETU is now promoting a research paper, surprisingly initiated by the ETU, paid for by the ETU and conducted by a former Labor staffer who worked for former Senator Nick Bolkus and Brian Howe under the banner of the Australian Institute. The Australian Building and Construction Commission existed from October 2005 to 2012, and in that time it brought confidence to workers, to contractors, to small business and to the industry generally. In court case after court case the courts have found that building unions simply ignored the law. Indeed, in the Grocon case they were so flagrantly in breach of a Supreme Court injunction that they were found guilty of criminal contempt and fined $1.25 million. That speaks for itself, and we need to restore the rule of law. (Time expired)
2:55 pm
Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Will the minister inform the Senate of the aims of the government's proposed fair and lawful building sites code and how it will operate?
Senator Cameron interjecting—
Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
The building code promotes best-practice workplace relations. It is designed to bring back the rule of law to our building sites. It is designed to ensure safe, fair and cooperative workplaces in which workers are no longer intimidated, and that is why we need the Australian Building and Construction Commission.
Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Central to the code is the requirement that those who want to do taxpayer-funded work must comply with the law—nothing too radical there—including industrial laws dealing with pay and entitlements and occupational health and safety. If an employer is guilty of underpaying their workers or of committing safety breaches, the company puts at risk its ability to do work funded by the Commonwealth.
Senator Cameron interjecting—
Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Another aim of the building code is to ensure that contractors are not hampered by rorts and rackets—the sorts of things that those opposite and the Leader of the Opposition in Victoria seek to champion. (Time expired)
2:56 pm
Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. I refer the minister to claims by the ETU that the building code bans rostered days off and also bans employing apprentices and mature-age workers. Are these claims true?
2:57 pm
Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
The ETU is conducting a dishonest campaign opposing the building code because it allows employees the ability to decide to deal with their employers directly.
Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Mr President, a point of order on relevance: there is no building code in place under law as the minister is indicating, and he should be dealing with the current code and not a proposed code.
Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
That is not a point of order, and it certainly does not go to direct relevance to the question that was asked.
Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
The desperation of Senator Cameron speaks for itself. The ETU claims that the rostered days off are prohibited. This is simply false. What the ETU does not say is that, under its pattern EBA, a union delegate could veto an employee's agreement with their employer to take their RDO on another day where it suits the worker. The ETU also claims the building code bans agreements providing a day off on Christmas or Easter. This too is false. The ETU claims that industry wage rates will be banned. This, once again, is false. The ETU claims penalty rates will be lost. This, unsurprisingly, is also false. (Time expired)