THE House Standing Committee on Economics has published the programs for its upcoming public hearings in Cairns and Townsville, Queensland, as part of its inquiry into insurers’ responses to 2022 major floods claims.

The Cairns hearing will be held in the Catalina Room at the Cairns RSL on Wednesday, July 24, from 9am to 4pm. The hearing will include evidence from local councils, business associations, community organisations and residents.

The Townsville hearing will be held in the Jezzines Function Room at the Townsville RSL on Thursday, July 25, from 9.15am to 12.30pm, and will include evidence from Townsville City Council and business associations, with a session for individual statements by residents subject to interest.

The hearing programs are available on the inquiry website.

For further information contact the Committee secretariat on 02 6277 4707 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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THE joint media investigation into the operations and underworld links within the CFMEU confirms what Master Builders has long known and called out – union representatives with a comprehensive disregard for the law and the industry it claims to represent.

Governments cannot turn a blind eye to this abhorrent and alleged criminal behaviour that we have seen displayed over the past few days.

Master Builders implores the Prime Minister and all state leaders to urgently explore all possible options to clean up this mess.

Master Builders recommendations for urgent action are:

• Establishment of a cross-jurisdiction police strike force to investigate the allegations which is sufficiently resourced.
• The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) to commence a review of CFMEU activities including whether recent EBAs were in fact genuinely agreed.
• ACCC investigation of activity that may be contrary to competition laws.
• At the very least, the Federal Government introduces legislation in spring sittings that increases the powers of the FWO to hold recidivist officials and unions to account. This should include a capacity to conduct reviews of whether officials and/or registered organisations should continue to hold their existing status and provide greater protection to complainants who are currently too afraid to come forward with evidence in fear of retribution.

"The CFMEU accounts for less than 10 percent of industry participants but their unyielding stranglehold on builders, subbies, and clients has gone on for long enough," the Master Buildes statement read.

"The investigation confirms what we have heard from builders on the ground, ongoing coercion and bullying tactics employed by union representatives to accept pattern EBAs conditions including who they can and can’t hire on site.

"It’s clear the industrial relations system in building and construction is broken.

"There have been four royal commissions, hundreds of court judgments, and dozens of other reports and independent inquires that forensically examined the unlawful and illegal conduct of building unions.

"They all reached the same conclusion – there are problems unique to building and construction, and therefore there is a need for an industry-specific workplace regulator or specific rules for the industry.

"Taxpayers and consumers ultimately pay the price through higher construction costs."

www.masterbuilders.com.au

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MASTER BUILDERS Australia has welcomed today’s announcement that the Fair Work Commission is seeking advice on making an application to appoint an independent administrator to oversee the CFMEU.

The announcement is a significant move in addressing a range of serious allegations against the CFMEU while ensuring workers retain access to workplace representation if they choose.

According to Master Builders' official statment, "It is also an important first step towards stamping out the toxic and ingrained culture within building unions of bullying, thuggery, and complete disregard for the law. 

"We also appreciate Minister (Tony) Burke’s commitment to support the application and to introduce legislation in the next sitting period should there be any legislative barriers to appointing an administrator.

"We welcome the Federal Government’s announcement of a Fair Work Ombudsman investigation into CFMEU Victorian EBAs on Big Build projects, a review through procurement powers into whether CFMEU EBAs on government projects were genuinely agreed to, and a request for an AFP investigation working alongside state jurisdictions to investigate the recent claims and any criminal breaches.

"This culture has existed for decades and has stifled productivity and increased the cost of construction at the expense of the community, taxpayers, jobs and small business.

"All levers need to be pulled to ensure these investigations are well-resourced, thorough and have the full powers available to them.

"Master Builders will continue to work with the Federal Government about taking a holistic urgent approach to this issue, including an ACCC investigation.

It has been extensively documented in four Royal Commissions, dozens of inquiries and reviews, and hundreds of court judgements. The time for talking is over - what we need now is real action to fix this problem once and for all.

"More action will still be needed to hold recidivist officials accountable, and a strong building regulator must be reinstated.

"We urge all political parties to set politics aside and work together to ensure the passage of legislation to remove any barriers to the investigations."

www.masterbuilders.com.au

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THE general manager of the Fair Work Commission (the Commission), Murray Furlong, is the independent statutory regulator of federally registered organisations under the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 (RO Act). 

It is the Commission’s role to promote the efficient management of organisations and high standards of accountability of organisations and their office holders to their members. 

The Commission is currently undertaking careful analysis of the extensive media reporting involving the Construction and General Division of the CFMEU in relation to alleged non-compliance under the RO Act.

The general manager’s focus is on ensuring the effective functioning of branches within the CFMEU’s Construction and General Division for the benefit of their members and has been actively engaging with the CFMEU to seek clarification about what steps have been taken to put the Victoria-Tasmania Divisional Branch into administration.

Correspondence received from the CFMEU yesterday evening (16 July 2024) included that the effect of a resolution by the Construction & General Division’s Divisional Executive on 15 July 2024 is to appoint the national secretary Zach Smith to investigate and take any action he considers necessary to resolve any matters arising out of the recent media reporting and in doing so conferred on Mr Smith all powers and functions necessary to perform this role, including the powers and functions of the Secretary of the Victoria-Tasmania Divisional Branch.

The general manager is now carefully reviewing the information received from the CFMEU, including if there are any conflict of interest issues arising from Mr Smith assuming multiple roles at the same time.

Mr Furlong said:

• "I am deeply concerned about the alleged conduct and commentary that organised crime has infiltrated several state branches of the division, including that it appears to be embedded and ongoing."

• "I have already initiated a wide range of operational activities, including seeking advice on making an application to the Federal Court under s.323 of the RO Act. I have also commenced sharing information with other regulatory and law enforcement authorities and requesting evidence about alleged contraventions from a wide variety of participants in the building and construction industry."

• "While the alleged criminal conduct reported in the media falls outside of my jurisdiction, alleged conduct involving repeated, opportunistic or deliberate contraventions of the RO Act, including misappropriation of funds or unlawful conduct of elected officials, will be met by swift, well-resourced and significant enforcement action."

• "Members of registered organisations deserve for their organisations to represent their interests in a lawful manner, that is consistent with the RO Act, other laws and the expectations of our community."

www.fwc.gov.au

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