Master Builders backs ABCC re-establishment

Master Builders Australia says that the parliament should recognise the Turnbull government’s mandate to re-establish the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC).

“The ABCC is crucial to ensure the rule of law is returned on construction sites and to protect the community from paying more than it should for much needed public infrastructure,” said Wilhelm Harnisch, CEO of Master Builders Australia (MBA).

“The promise to re-establish the ABCC was a key policy for the Federal Coalition and the main trigger for the 2016 double-dissolution election.

“By returning the Turnbull government, the Australian people have given an undeniable mandate to re-establish the ABCC. They have voted to say ‘no’ to bullying, intimidation and the actions of militant construction unions who think the law doesn’t apply to them.

“The culture and behaviours of building unions, as documented in three Royal Commissions, are well outside of community standards. They are not the behaviours of normal unions, normal workplaces or normal people. They punish the community by increasing the cost of building community facilities and infrastructure by up to 30%.

“Why should Australian families pay more for their schools and hospitals because of what is effectively a building union tax? Why should our community be denied the facilities that were highlighted as a priority by the electorate during the recent election campaign?

“The parliament now has the chance to stand up to building union bullies and stop the culture that is ingrained and institutionalised.

“By voting to re-establish the ABCC, the parliament will be sending a message that it will fight for the rights of women, small business, young people, apprentices and ordinary workers in the building and construction industry who regularly feel the brunt of building union tactics and illegal behaviours. These groups have a right to get on with the job and building unions have no right to bully, threaten and intimidate on a daily basis.

“The ABCC worked before to the benefit of the community, building workers, small contractors, apprentices and the economy and it will again,” Harnisch said.