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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-03-08 Daily Xml
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Bills

Construction Industry Commissioner Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 22 February 2023.)

Mr BATTY (Bragg) (10:31): I rise to speak in support of the Construction Industry Commissioner Bill 2022 and, in doing so, commend the good work of the Leader of the Opposition and indeed the shadow treasurer for bringing this bill before the house and doing so in such a timely manner to respond to what is fast becoming an urgent problem.

In my own maiden speech only six months ago, I warned of the risk of union thugs seizing control of construction sites across South Australia. I am sorry to say that I think this risk has only heightened, because what we have seen since the election of the Malinauskas Labor government is the arrival of the John Setka militant CFMEU setting up shop in South Australia.

They have arrived and they have arrived in a big way, flexing their muscles complete with emblazoning public transport with their propaganda, complete with bizarre social media videos and complete with, I am sorry to say already, accounts of tactics used by this union including intimidation of subcontractors, threatening behaviours, verbal assault and disruption on worksites.

This situation, I fear, is only going to get worse because what we have seen at the same time as the arrival of the John Setka-led militant CFMEU is the systematic dismantling by the federal Labor government of the Australian Building and Construction Commission. This was the very industry watchdog that was there to crack down on this sort of union behaviour. It was there to crack down on union thuggery. It was there to crack down on intimidation. It was there to crack down on criminal behaviour on worksites right across South Australia.

What we are left with now is no protection and no support for employers when they are dealing with workplace issues on construction sites across South Australia and when they are dealing with elements of this union movement. We have already seen the Master Builders Association of South Australia come out and warn that with the absence of a specialist watchdog in this industry, we are going to see bad behaviour in this industry continue to ramp up right across South Australia.

This is a very concerning thing. It is a concerning thing in and of itself, but it also has a very real impact on our economy. We know this because we have seen it before. When Bill Shorten last tried to dismantle the ABCC, working days lost rose from 24,000 in 2011-12, to 89,000 in 2012-13. The cost of critical infrastructure—our hospitals, our schools—rose by up to 30 per cent. In fact, it is estimated that the ABCC's abolition will see an economic decline of up to $47.5 billion across our country by 2030.

So our economy will be hit, jobs will be lost, small businesses will be forced to shut down and we have union thugs running riot on construction sites right across South Australia. That is the context in which this bill is introduced. I say that in those circumstances it is incumbent upon us as a state parliament to step in and plug the gap left by the ABCC. We have seen other jurisdictions across the country already act in this respect, with New South Wales announcing just last month some strong regulatory measures and safeguards in the construction industry to plug the gap left by the federal watchdog.

We, too, need a tough industry watchdog here in South Australia, and that is exactly what this bill is seeking to do. We can see it seeking to do it through the objects set out in clause 3 of the act. We see in clause 7 of the act the wideranging powers that will be vested in this commissioner, including to facilitate and encourage the fair treatment of building and construction industry participants, including to act as a one-stop shop for the building and construction industry to register their concerns relating to safety, industrial action, allegations of coercion and threatening behaviour.

Importantly, the commissioner will also have the power to direct matters to state authorities, such as SAPOL and the Commissioner for Consumer Affairs, following the receipt of a complaint. We also see in clause 15 an explicit prohibition on threats, coercion and intimidation in relation to the performance of any function under this act.

South Australia urgently needs a specialist industry watchdog in the construction industry. Without it businesses are at risk and our economy will suffer. We know such a body does not exist at the federal level anymore. We can speculate as to why that might be. Perhaps it has something to do with the $100 million that unions across the country have donated to the Australian Labor Party since 2007.

Let's not make the same mistake here at a state level. I urge the parliament to support this bill. I urge those opposite to support this bill, or do they, too, have to appease their own union paymasters and the $125,000 they received from the John Setka-led militant CFMEU ahead of the last election? Our businesses, our economy, our state should not have to wear the cost of Labor appeasing their own union paymasters. They should support this bill today, and I commend it to the house.

Mr ODENWALDER (Elizabeth) (10:38): I move:

That the debate be adjourned.

The house divided on the motion:

Ayes 22

Noes 14

Majority 8

AYES

Andrews, S.E. Bettison, Z.L. Bignell, L.W.K.
Brown, M.E. Champion, N.D. Clancy, N.P.
Cook, N.F. Fulbrook, J.P. Hildyard, K.A.
Hood, L.P. Hughes, E.J. Hutchesson, C.L.
Koutsantonis, A. Michaels, A. Mullighan, S.C.
Odenwalder, L.K. (teller) Pearce, R.K. Piccolo, A.
Picton, C.J. Stinson, J.M. Thompson, E.L.
Wortley, D.J.

NOES

Batty, J.A. Bell, T.S. Cowdrey, M.J. (teller)
Ellis, F.J. Gardner, J.A.W. Hurn, A.M.
McBride, P.N. Patterson, S.J.R. Pederick, A.S.
Pisoni, D.G. Pratt, P.K. Speirs, D.J.
Teague, J.B. Telfer, S.J.

PAIRS

Savvas, O.M. Tarzia, V.A. Close, S.E.
Basham, D.K.B. Szakacs, J.K. Marshall, S.S.

Motion thus carried; debate adjourned.

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