Government sparks fresh battle after scrapping building watchdog’s ‘ridiculous’ powers | AngusGthompson
The federal government has moved to gut the controversial construction industry watchdog of its powers this week in a decision sparking a fresh battle between employers and unions about worksite intimidation tactics and productivity.
A commission spokesperson said the agency, “to date” had received no advice from Burke on the changes to the building code, “nor has it been consulted about the implications for industry”. “We will no longer be spending taxpayers’ money determining what sticker someone’s allowed to put on their helmet, whether or not a safety sign has to be pulled down because it’s got a union logo in the bottom corner, or what flag might be flying at a building site,” Burke said.“Those sorts of issues should never have been something for an official government regulator to be wasting taxpayers’ money. As of Tuesday, those offences are gone altogether.
Labor went to the election promising to abolish the watchdog. Burke confirmed on Sunday that the government would do so this year. However, as a statutory body, its removal must be legislated, and Labor does not have a majority in the Senate to guarantee this. Even with the support of the Greens, it is likely to need the vote of a crossbench senator. ACT senator David Pocock recently raised concerns about the abolition of the commission. Other crossbenchers are yet to decide their position.
Last month the Federal Court delivered record fines of $840,000 against the CFMMEU and its officials after the building commission prosecuted the union for coercive behaviour across multiple Brisbane building projects, which the court said had the potential to create economic loss.In April, the High Court backed maximum fines issued to the union for lesser offences, saying its repeated rule-breaking demonstrated it regarded lesser penalties as the “cost of doing business”.
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