Employment Minister Eric Abetz has told the Australian Financial Review that the Abbott Government intends to put the Building and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Bill 2013 (ABCC Bill) to a parliamentary vote next week. The ABCC Bill requires the support of six of the eight crossbenchers to pass the Senate.

Senator Abetz said the evidence heard in the current Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption confirmed the need for the ABCC, given the CFMEU’s conduct was “giving trade unions a bad name and costing taxpayers and consumers in circumstances that are completely unacceptable”.

If passed, the ABCC Bill will re-instate the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) and re-introduce specific legislation regulating conduct in the building and construction industry. This includes an increase in maximum penalties for unlawful conduct from $51,000 to $170,000 for body corporates such as the CFMEU; the extension of ABCC jurisdiction to cover unlawful pickets; and the introduction of the Building and Construction Industry (Fair and Lawful Building Sites) Code 2014 (Building Code 2014).

Master Builders strongly supports efforts to bring the rule of law into the industry, and urges cross-bench senators to vote to re-establish the ABCC.