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
Press Conference – APH, Mural Hall
16 September 2024
TOPICS: CFMEU strikes, strike intervention, Murray Watt’s secret IR agenda
E&OE
Senator Cash
What Australians have witnessed today, our two biggest cities brought to a standstill as 1000s and 1000s of construction workers marched in the streets of Sydney and Melbourne. It just shows Australians that the Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese has lost control of the construction sector, and unfortunately for Australians, this is not the first time, but a few weeks ago, across Australia, the construction industry came to a standstill. And what has Mr. Albanese done since then? Absolutely nothing. Where is Mr. Albanese today condemning these practices? Absolutely nowhere. The only people that are paying the price for Mr. Albanese losing control are taxpayers. Why? Because there’s an economic cost when people do this. They walk off the schools, the houses, the roads, the hospitals that Australians desperately need built. And what we’ve also seen today is the ETU now saying that it’s going to conduct 72 hours of strikes in the construction industry in Victoria, this is going to come at a huge economic cost, not just for Victorians, but ultimately Australians. And again, where is Mr. Albanese, condemning this behavior? Where is Minister, Watt condemning this behavior? Minister Watt has the ability to go to the Fair Work Commission and actually ask the Fair Work Commission to step in. They could step in today. They could step in tomorrow and bring this action to a halt. But again, nothing but silence from the Albanese government. What is it going to take for Mr. Albanese as the Prime Minister of this country to wake up that he was wrong to abolish the Australian Building and Construction Commission holding the construction industry to account. What is it going to take for Mr. Albanese to re-stand up the tough building watchdog? I have two bills in the Senate at the moment, and both of those bills the Australian Labor Party have said they will oppose – the reintroduction of the tough cop on the beat and a bill to ensure that we can keep criminals off work sites. Mr. Albanese is absolutely all talk when it comes to actually cleaning up the construction industry in Australia. And as I said, the only people now who are paying the price for our weak Prime Minister who has lost control of the construction industry is the Australian taxpayer. It’s their money. It’s their projects. Mr. Albanese, where are you, quite frankly, and what are you going to do?
Journalist
Is it hypocritical of the Coalition to criticise Labor’s secret plans on IR laws on the other side of the election, when you haven’t spelled out chapter and verse, what your targeted repeal of Labor’s IR policies will include?
Senator Cash
Well, given that Labor are in government, given that Labor made a number of promises before the election, which they’ve failed to implement on coming into government, given that Labor have now openly admitted, Murray Watt has openly admitted, be prepared Australia for surprises after the election under the Albanese government, or even worse, and Albanese-Greens government. I would have thought you’d be asking them those questions. The Coalition has been very clear. We will be upfront with the Australian people when the election is called in relation to our policy. But we’ve also made it clear, will we be looking to get rid of and relieve businesses, and in particular, small businesses, of the cost of the complexity and confusion that Mr. Albanese has imposed on them. Yes, we will. I am continually in discussions with employers across this country as to what they need so that they continue to prosper, grow and create more, higher paying, sustainable jobs for Australia. Mr. Albanese seems to forget, or perhaps he conveniently doesn’t know – governments don’t create jobs employers do. Governments put in place economic framework under which businesses can grow and create more, higher paying, sustainable jobs or… And you saw last night at the BCA dinner, the ‘or’ was on display with Bran Black at the BCA on behalf of employers across the country, saying Mr. Albanese has lost control of the economy with his policies.
Journalist
Just to clarify so by the time that voters go to the polls, whenever the election is they will know which IR policies, the Coalition government?
Senator Cash
Peter Dutton has made that very, very clear. What Murray Watt made very clear today to the Australian people is they should expect surprises from the Labor government, just like they got this time when they voted for something they didn’t get. They also got something they didn’t vote for. And Murray Watt has made it very, very clear they are his own words. You’ve seen them. He was the one who said them. Beware, the Australian Labor Party, post the election, will be bringing in policies, added extras he’s called them that they have not announced. That is incredibly dangerous.
Journalist
Senator, sorry I’m not sure whether this has already been asked. Were you at all with Senator Watt saying they prepared to make tweaks on the outcome of the review. And do you think it’s too early?
He said he’s going to commission a review into the laws, which will be complete by the end of January, we’ll listen to all stakeholders and prepare to make tweaks?
Senator Cash
I don’t believe anything that Murray says. I don’t believe anything that Murray Watt says. He is part of a government, and he said it today that he’s prepared to do things after an election that they have not told the people about despite the fact that businesses medium and large across Australia are now saying to this government, saying your policies, if they’re not already having a chilling effect, are causing them to go insolvent. 19,000 small businesses have gone insolvent since this government came into office, the highest number on record. And what does this government do, since there are policy and that is it. So I don’t believe a thing that comes out of Murray Watt.
Journalist
What’s your response to Murray claims at the Press Club today that Labor went to the election with these IR policies and therefore have a mandate?
Senator Cash
Well, he then contradicted himself by saying and openly admitting that they have also implemented things which they didn’t take to the election. I mean, last year or the year before now it’s 2024, in 2022 at the Jobs and Skills Summit, businesses said to him, Minister Burke at the time, Mr. Albanese – you’re discussing a number of policies: A) you never raised with us and b) you never announced before the election. There is a great saying, buyer beware, caveat emptor. Australians now need to understand. Murray Watt today belled the cat on a future Labor government, or worse still, a future Labor-Greens government. He has openly admitted that in the Labor Party, you are able to take things to election or not take them to election. All Australians should be on notice, beware of a future Albanese government and what they have in store for you because Murray Watt has said they ain’t telling you before the election.
Journalist
Question re ABCC…
Senator Cash
So in the first instance, what a complete, total and utter joke. And I have to say, journalists start asking Minister Watt, explain what he means because Mr. Burke one of the things he did was abolish the building code. The building code was keeping these builders in the CFMEU to do what we needed them to do. That is gone. They stripped most of the powers that the ABCC had. So to say they’ve given all the powers to the Fair Work Ombudsman is actually blatantly misleading Australians. They didn’t. In relation to the Building Industry Forum. Well, let’s be honest. What was that? That was a promise made by the Labor Party to David Pocock. They didn’t even think of that. Denita Wawn, the head of Master Builders in Australia was conveniently not on the building forum. What has the building forum done to date? Absolutely nothing. Another round table is not going to help anybody. We know what needs to be done. Restore the building watchdog, get the building code back in. You could do that in the sitting tomorrow, send it down to the House of Reps when they return in October. But also, why did the Labor Party in 2017 refuse to support our legislation to keep criminal worksites? Why did the Labor Party in 2019 again refuse to support our legislation to keep them off the worksites? In the Senate today, the Labor party made it clear. They will not support legislation… that all it seeks to do is keep criminals off building sites
Journalist
Question from Journalist re deregistering the CFMEU.
Senator Cash
Because in the first instance, that is the appropriate response. Get rid of this organization. In addition to deregistration though, what you do is you change the system to ensure that any person who has a criminal conviction or has breached industrial laws is not allowed to be an official of a registered organization. At this point in time, the administrator has only got rid of a handful of people. Seriously, how is that cleaning up the construction sector in this country? We actually want to work with Labor on this. We keep bringing the bills into the parliament. We are the government that tried to clean the construction industry up and Labor opposed us every step of the way. We are saying to them, there is a bill in the parliament. You could pass it tomorrow, quite frankly, take credit for it. Take credit for re-standing up the Building and Construction Commission. Take credit for getting criminals off work sites. But again, money speaks louder than words. Money speaks louder than words. And when you have $6.2 million flowing from CFMEU through to the Australian Labor Party to Anthony Albanese.
Journalist
Senator just on the ETU Wildcats strike. Do you believe the government or employers should intervene on this one?
Senator Cash
Absolutely.
Journalist
And also just with the CFMEU administration? Do you have confidence in Mark Irving’s administration of the union right now?
Senator Cash
So in relation to the ETU, if I was Murray Watt, or alternatively, if I was Anthony Albanese as Prime Minister, I would have already directed Murray Watt, pick up the phone to the Fair Work Commission and get them to bring this to a standstill. The Fair Work Act clearly provides the Fair Work Commission power to stop industrial action if they believe it shouldn’t go ahead. Well in this case, bringing Victoria to a standstill, I don’t think that should go ahead. In any event, the Minister himself has significant powers under the act. So yes, I do. This is not for the sake of… this is costing the Australian taxpayer money. And the Labor Party takes this money, and make excuses for it. Any responsible Minister but more than that, any responsible Prime Minister would be standing up today and taking the ETU on and saying it is not on… and we want the Fair Work Commission to step in.
I think Mark Irving has… If the legislation that Murray Watt, first tabled in the Senate had passed. Well can I tell you, he would have had no chance at all. You read the legislation that Murray Watt tabled, and I honestly thought it had been drafted by John Setka, we made significant improvements to that legislation. But I was very clear with Mr. Irving when I met with him, if he needs additional powers, if there are any roadblocks that he needs to he should come back to the opposition, and we will go to the government, and we will do what we can to ensure he has every ability possible to clean up the CFMEU. But at this point in time as I said, I think he’s got a huge job, but if he needs additional powers, we will support them.
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