Master Builders support Heydon's decision to stay on as Royal Commissioner

Master Builders Australia has welcomed Justice Dyson Heydon’s decision to remain head of the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption despite recent pressure for him to stand down.

The building and construction industry association says the vital work of the royal commission must now continue unfettered and free from future claims of bias following Justice Heydon’s decision to dismiss the attempts by the unions, including the CFMEU, to shut it down.

In a statement released on 13 August, Master Builders Australia CEO Wilhelm Harnisch said the revelations about Justice Heydon were “an unhelpful distraction from the valuable work” of the commission.

“It is in the community’s interest that the Royal Commission’s investigations into unlawful and corrupt behaviours in the construction industry continue,” said Harnisch.

“Despite claims from vested interests in the construction unions, the integrity of the commission’s processes has not been tainted, nor has the damning and compelling evidence that has so far been provided.”

Justice Heydon was accused of creating a perception of bias after it was revealed he had planned to speak at a Liberal Party fundraiser, though he later withdrew from the event.

The ACTU was one of the main voices calling for the commission to be shut down stating in a press release that “it is untenable for the former judge charged with overseeing the royal commission to display such biased and political behaviour in what is a clear conflict of interest”.

Harnisch, however, said the evidence given at the Royal Commission so far has been provided free from bias or intimidation and “highlights the price the community and jobseekers pay for the conduct of the building unions”.

“The evidence has shown just how out of touch the building unions are with normal standards of community behaviour and with the conduct of normal unions,” said Harnisch.

“It has identified a culture of intimidation that allows corrupt behaviours to flourish. The building unions know they cannot morally defend these behaviours, yet they insist on trying,” he added.

Harnisch said Master Builders fully supports the work of the commission and he anticipates its final report delivering strong recommendations for law reform, including for the return of a construction industry regulator with sufficient powers to “bring the industry back to normality, free from intimidation and corruption”.

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