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Fri March 29 2024

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Minister hits out at thuggery in Australia’s construction sector

20 Jan 15 There is an urgent need to restore the rule of law to the building and construction industry, Australia’s minister for employment has said.

Eric Abetz
Eric Abetz

Eric Abetz said that reports about the spread of a culture of unlawfulness in the industry highlight the need for legislation to re-establish the Australian Building & Construction Commission (ABCC), he said.

“Compulsory powers are necessary to break this culture of silence and shine a light on the intimidation, thuggery and fear of reprisal that has darkened the industry,” said Abetz.

Abetz said that the abolition of the ABCC by the former government has seen the disregard for the law that defined the industry in Victoria and Western Australia spread to South Australia, Queensland and New South Wales.

He added that the chairman of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) was confronted by a culture of silence and fear of reprisal when investigating a boycott put in place by the CFMEU union.

"The Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance & Corruption concluded in its interim report that there is a “culture of wilful defiance of the law which appears to lie at the core of the CFMEU,” he said.

ACCC chairman Rod Sims had said that “the ACCC has only been able to progress the investigation by compelling people to give evidence”. Without the ACCC’s compulsory powers, the serious wrongdoing alleged would not have been put before the Court, said Abetz.

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MPU
MPU

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