Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash
Shadow Attorney-General
Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations
Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
Senator for Western Australia
TRANSCRIPT
2CC Talking Canberra – Breakfast with Stephen Cenatiempo
22 August 2024
TOPICS: CFMEU legislation
E&OE
Stephen Cenatiempo
Michaelia, good morning.
Senator Cash
Good morning Stephen.
Stephen Cenatiempo
As I say, I still find it unfathomable that anybody didn’t see this coming. But is this legislation – and I know that you’ve put forward a number of amendments to strengthen it – is it strong enough to hold up in the High Court?
Senator Cash
Well, it was never about merely putting the CFMEU into administration. We had always said that was just the first step, and if Mr. Albanese and his government think that appointing an administrator to run the militant CFMEU is going to be the only measure needed to clean up the building and construction industry in Australia, well, quite frankly, they’re living in fantasyland. So that is why both Peter Dutton and I have introduced two additional bills into the Australian Parliament that will crack down on the rogue CFMEU, but also will bring some order back to Australia’s construction industry. So the test for Mr. Albanese now is, were you actually genuine when you said you wanted to tackle this bad behaviour, or are you merely going to set, forget and walk away? The test is now for Mr. Albanese, and he can pass that test by supporting our bills.
Stephen Cenatiempo
So talk us through those bills, what are you hoping to achieve with these two?
Senator Cash
Yes, so in the first instance, it is the restoration of the Australian Building and Construction Commission, the tough cop on the beat. I mean, even former prime ministers Rudd and Gillard understood the construction industry is different. The behaviour in it, because of the CFMEU is an absolute disgrace, and even they understood it needed a specific regulator. What did Mr. Albanese do as his first act on becoming Prime Minister? Well, he thanked John Setka and the CFMEU for the $6.2 million they had given directly to the Australian Labor Party since Mr. Albanese was elected as opposition leader way back when. And guess what, despite everything we said to them, despite everything the building industry said to them, you are going to wreak havoc on the building industry, he had to pay his paymaster, and he abolished the watchdog. So consistent with our position and what stakeholders have said, let’s restore the tough cop on the beat. But let’s not stop there. Let’s get some real integrity in registered organisations across Australia, and that’s what the Ensuring Integrity bill does. It means that a registered organisation official who has committed a criminal offence, guess what, they are automatically disqualified from holding office in any registered organisation, and more than that, they cannot act as a shadow officer. Let’s clean up the industry for the benefit of all Australians.
Stephen Cenatiempo
But the criticism that the building industry tells me of that, and the reason they oppose deregistration of the union is because they say that exact same thing. If you deregister in the union, it doesn’t actually take away their power in the industry. But the Minister, Murray Watt, has been very clear that the ABCC is off the table, and the government would argue that it never was the tough watchdog. It didn’t have the teeth it needed to do what it needed to do. And the building industry seems to be of the same opinion.
Senator Cash
I completely disagree. The ABCC was responsible for policing industrial laws. The Labor Party when in opposition fought us every single step of the way to even stand up that type of regulator. They were successful in over 91% of the cases they brought before the court. They secured in excess of $16 million in fines. But guess what? We also, when we were last in government, we wanted to introduce the Ensuring Integrity legislation to clean up registered organisations. And guess what? The Labor Party fought us every step of the way. So we’ve always been very clear. There is a number of measures, a number of levers you have got to pull to clean up the building and construction industry in Australia. Labor, when in opposition, fought us every step of the way. They facilitated and they condoned the behavior of the CFMEU and quite frankly, their attitude now, butter wouldn’t melt in our mouths when it comes to this behavior, you’re treating the Australian people like mugs.
Stephen Cenatiempo
The first step, obviously, is this deregistration legislation, because you’ve agreed to that with the amendments. I go back to that question, will it hold up in the High Court if Zach Smith and his his mob decide that they are going to challenge it?
Senator Cash
Well, at this point in time, they’re obviously seeking their legal advice, and we don’t know what the basis of the challenge is, but ultimately, I mean, Bob Hawke deregistered the BLS, the Parliament does have the ability to do this. And quite frankly, Zach Smith standing up and saying that this is an abrogation of democracy, etc., you’ve got to be kidding me. You run an organisation that has been infiltrated by bikies, gangland and underworld criminals, and you have the audacity to now stand up and say, we’re actually going to take you all the way to the High Court in your attempts to clean up the industry. But again, Stephen, this was never about one bill, one lever. There are a multitude of levers. Two of those additional levers have now been tabled in the parliament. They are bills that will crack down on the rogue CFMEU. They are bills that will help bring back law and order to Australia’s construction industry. And I would say, to Mr. Albanese, this is now your test. Do you actually support the genuine cleaning up of the CFMEU and the building and construction industry in Australia, or will you continue to do what you have done for years and years and years and years – condone the behaviour, facilitate the behaviour, and just stand by and watch while Mum and Dad Australia pay more for their public infrastructure?
Stephen Cenatiempo
One of the things I found extraordinary, I was only doing a bit of research on this this morning, off the back of what’s happening in New South Wales with the Liberal Party. But Zach Smith is still on the federal executive of the Labor Party. I thought the Labor Party had cut ties.
Senator Cash
This is the joke Stephen. The CFMEU are still conducting pre-selections. The CFMEU still has a role in “this person is going to get this seat in Canberra.” “This person is going to become a senator in Canberra.” “This person in Western Australia”, they’ve got, I think, the number two position on the upper house ticket. So I mean the Labor Party, you’ve got to be kidding me. Are they serious about cleaning up the CFMEU? The CFMEU is still running the Labor Party, and the real test for Mr. Albanese is, do you support real action as put forward by the Coalition that you fought against every step of the way when you were in opposition to clean up the building and construction industry, or do you just want to pull the wool over the Australian people’s eyes and pretend you’re actually doing something. Well, guess what Mr. Albanese? It’s about time you start acting like a Prime Minister and actually pass this legislation and let’s get on the road to cleaning up the industry. But more than that, providing value for taxpayers money, to Mum and Dad Australia, and stop denying them the additional roads, the additional schools, the additional houses, the additional hospitals, because of the additional cost this bad behaviour imposes on.
Stephen Cenatiempo
Michaelia, good to talk to you this morning.
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