Statement by Incoming Executive Director Matthew Pollock

MEDIA RELEASE:  “There must be zero tolerance for criminal behaviour. Unfortunately, the construction industry is no stranger to unlawfulness. The solution is for the return of a national specialist construction industry regulator with the necessary powers. Prior to its abolition, the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) was successful in tackling the culture of toxic industrial practices used by bad actors to drive criminality in the industry.

“Every time the construction industry regulator is scrapped, the bikies, the violence and intimidation come back as do the other union industrial practices which mean that taxpayers pay more for schools, hospitals and infrastructure.

“The industry regulator was never just about attacking the unions; it was the cop on the beat for the whole industry. The recent report on last Sunday’s 60 Minutes program again shows how irresponsible it was for the Federal Government to abolish the ABCC. This was a decision driven by ideology rather than reality, and now the industry is paying the price.

“The CFMEU Administration will be over in a couple of years. Without the structures in place to ensure we can stamp out criminality, intimidation and corruption for good, we’ll simply see the bad actors return.

“The CFMEU Administrator is right in saying it is not his responsibility to fix all the problems in the industry. What we need is a permanent solution, a regulator with teeth that can pursue and prosecute those who break the law in our industry.

“The CFMEU Administrator now finds himself confronting the same reality as that faced by numerous Royal Commissions. A specialist cop on the beat is needed for the construction sector and if the Federal Government won’t do something about it due to pressure from the unions, then the New South Wales Government must.

“The NSW Government has the means at its disposal to act immediately by revoking the Practice Direction which prohibits the state’s Construction Compliance Unit from enforcing the elements of the NSW Building and Construction Procurement Guidelines that concern the industrial tactics that can result in a toxic environment in our industry.”

Media contact: Ben Carter, Head of Government Relations, Marketing & Corporate Affairs, 0447 775 507