The Federal Government has announced a Royal Commission will be held into union governance and corruption allegations. Former High Court Judge The Hon John Dyson Heydon AC QC has been named as the Commissioner that will lead this inquiry.

The announcement follows a wave of recent media reports outlining serious claims of impropriety, corruption, underworld connections, outlaw motorcycle gangs, militant standover tactics and death threats in the construction sector.

Getting to the bottom of these events will form part of the work to be done by the Royal Commission.

“Recent allegations of corrupt behaviour, unlawful kickbacks and standover tactics in the construction industry have made it clear that there is a need for serious scrutiny of allegedly corrupt conduct, wherever it may occur,” said Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

“The inquiry will be able to go where the evidence leads. This means that union officials, employers and any other persons who are involved in such conduct will be subject to equal scrutiny.”

As highlighted more than a decade ago by the Cole Royal Commission, commercial construction companies are all too familiar with being forced to have union endorsed EBAs in order to get work, regular abuse of right of entry laws, forced settlements for industrial harmony, hiring of staff to appease others and serious threats of violence.

The recent media reports have reinforced Master Builders’ calls for the return of a tough cop on the beat to police the construction sector. Our calls for the re-establishment of the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) have been validated and governments, both state and federal, are right to try to address insidious practices and bring those responsible to justice.

It’s disappointing that legislation to re-introduce the ABCC has been blocked in the Senate, despite it having made a significant contribution to boosting productivity and stamping out thuggery, coercion and corruption in parts of the industry. Fines worth millions of dollars were handed down, half of which was against the CFMEU in Victoria alone.

It’s time for the ABCC to be re-instated so that action can quickly be pursued while the work of a Royal Commission gets underway.

Master Builders will be joined by Federal Employment Minister Eric Abetz at our 2014 Conference being held in late February. It’s not too late to be there, so make sure you are on hand to hear the latest on the Royal Commission and the return of the ABCC.

You can see the Terms of Reference for the Royal Commission here and see what Master Builders has been saying to the media recently here.