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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-08-25 Daily Xml
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Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (15:07): My question is to the Treasurer. Can the Treasurer outline whether the government has any concerns about the recent actions of the CFMMEU with respect to the construction industry in South Australia?

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (15:07): This issue has been raised with me by stakeholders within the construction industry for a significant period of time and, I guess, more recently in the last couple of works as a result of a recent federal court decision. I am sure all members in this chamber would be appalled at some of the detail outlined in that federal court judgement.

Just to remind members, the Federal Court this month penalised the CFMMEU and six officials $428,250 for a series of offences, including making misrepresentations about the requirements to show their entry permits, refusing to follow directions and acting in an improper manner in relation to the major building redevelopment at Terminal 1 at Adelaide Airport back in 2019.

The Federal Court decision says that it is the highest penalty ever imposed by the ABCC in South Australia since the agency was re-established in 2016. Two of the officials of the CFMMEU were found to have repeatedly verbally abused a construction company employee. I won't go into what the court decision indicates the precise detail of the verbal abuse they subjected that employee to.

Commissioner McBurney said the officials' repeated refusal to comply with their legal right of entry obligations demonstrated their disdain for both the rule of law and the legal obligations that apply to federal permit holders. I quote the commissioner:

When challenged to produce their entry permits, or follow established safety and site induction practices two of the officials resorted to verbally abusing employees who were going about their rightful business. The verbal abuse on any measure is unacceptable. No worker in any Australian workplace should have to endure such a tirade. Equally concerning is the absence of contrition or any apology for this conduct. The ABCC takes a zero tolerance approach to this type of abuse and will fully investigate such matters and put them before the court where appropriate.

As I said, I think most members of this chamber, and I know most members of the community would accept the judgement of the Federal Court that no employee who is going about their business should be subjected to the type of verbal abuse that union bosses within the CFMEU subjected employees to on that particular worksite and, indeed, on other worksites. I'm sure all members in this chamber would join with me in expressing their opposition to that sort of continued behaviour in our workplaces, where employees going about their business are subjected to that sort of bullying, harassment and abuse within those particular worksites.

Stakeholders in South Australia have raised with me their concerns about the continuing approach of the CFMEU on construction sites towards other employees and workers on those particular worksites, and the concerns they have at the future of the construction industry in South Australia. The last thing we need in South Australia as we seek to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, as we seek to see economic recovery continue in this state, is to have the cancer spread by the CFMEU on building sites within the Eastern States of Australia spread to worksites within South Australia.

If we want to see jobs created and economic growth—there is a record public sector infrastructure investment in South Australia—and we want to see record levels of private sector investment, we need unions, employers and employees working together on our construction sites, assisting economic recovery rather than, as the Federal Court has found, verbally bullying, harassing and abusing other employees on those worksites.

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