Julia Gillard’s toothless building industry law undermines the rule of law

Last week the Gillard Labor Government snuck through amendments to its legislation to scrap the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC), further undermining the rule of law in the building and construction industry.

The amendments prohibit the proposed new Fair Work Building Inspectorate from commencing or continuing any legal proceedings for unlawful conduct in the building and construction industry if the conduct concerned has been the subject of a legal settlement between the parties.

This effectively grants a legal immunity to any union that is able to pressure an employer to withdraw any legal claims against it.

These amendments, which were kept secret by the Commonwealth Government until the main debate on the bill had almost concluded, open the way for even more intimidation and coercion in an industry already notorious for such practices.

“These amendments are extraordinary,” Attorney-General and Minister for Finance Robert Clark said.

“No other comparable regulator is subject to the same limits on its powers. Any effective regulator with the responsibility to uphold the law must have the power to pursue unlawful actions regardless of whether the perpetrator is able to persuade the victim to do a deal about the unlawful conduct.

“This is not only a capitulation to militant building unions; it is a complete abandonment of principle and a further broken promise by the Gillard Government.”

When Ms Gillard first announced her policy to scrap the ABCC in 2007 she promised a strong ‘cop on the beat’ in the building industry, saying:

“We want to make sure that no one is engaged in improper conduct in the building industry, whether employer, union or employee.”

When Ms Gillard introduced a previous bill to try to replace the ABCC in 2009, she promised that:

“Anybody who breaches the law should feel the full force of the law.”

“…there should be absolutely vigorous, hard-edged compliance and no tolerance at all for unlawfulness.”

“…each and every breach of the law is wrong and each and every breach of the law should be acted upon.”

In 2009 Ms Gillard told the ACTU Congress:

“Like me, I am sure you were appalled to read of dangerous car chases across Melbourne City involving carloads of balaclava wearing people, criminal damage to vehicles resulting in arrests, threats of physical violence and intimidation of individuals, including damage to a private residence….”

The behavior that Ms Gillard was so appalled by related to the West Gate bridge industrial dispute in which the ABCC ultimately pursued several militant unions and their officials who were ordered to pay a total of $1.35 million in penalties.

Yet under these last minute amendments agreed to with the Greens, her government’s Building Inspectorate would have had no power to take any action in such a case because the employer had withdrawn its legal action against the unions.

“The Gillard Labor Government’s latest broken promise undermines the rule of law and gives a green light to the worst kinds of workplace intimidation,” Mr Clark said.

“Where laws are broken, wrongdoers should be liable for their unlawful conduct. It is completely unacceptable for lawbreakers to be able to avoid such liability simply because they have done a deal with those who have been affected by their actions.

“This cave-in will jeopardise new jobs and investment in public infrastructure projects because unlawful and thuggish behavior increases the costs and timelines of projects.

“If Daniel Andrews and Tim Pallas remain silent and inactive on this issue, they will be complicit in the damage it will cause to the Victorian economy.”

The Victorian Coalition Government strongly supports the retention of the ABCC with its current powers.