MICHAELIA CASH: CFMEU’s criminal activity and corruption is a blight on the Albanese Government 

Not much shocks me any more about the conduct of some members of the militant CFMEU.

But what we saw on our TV screens over the weekend, with a bikie-linked health and safety representative, violently bashing a woman during his lunchbreak from a government funded infrastructure project made me sick to my stomach.

The horrific treatment of other women, also exposed on the weekend, included at least one other bashing, a woman being locked in a small room at a building project and text messages asking for nude photos.

These examples of the treatment of women within the industry, on top of years of similar examples, should be enough for the Albanese Labor Government to completely rethink their approach to the CFMEU.

The Albanese Labor Government talks a big game about gender equity and the treatment of women in the workplace, but their words don’t align with their actions where their paymasters, the CFMEU, are concerned.

But the treatment of women by members of this rogue union is only part of the story when it comes to the crime and corruption riddled building and construction sector in this country.

The latest disturbing revelations about the CFMEU’s links with organised crime confirm that urgent action is required to confront this militant and corrupt organisation head-on.

How can we be in a situation where hundreds of bikies and criminals have been earning up to $10,000 a week for jobs that they weren’t actually doing?

Construction firms are being intimidated into making suspect and often recurring payments of between $30,000 and $600,000 to gangland figures.

We need to deal with this cancer once and for all.

The CFMEU’s behaviour is driving up the cost of residential and commercial housing in Australia.

Infrastructure projects have blown out by billions of dollars on Labor’s watch, while taxpayers are footing the bill.

Australian construction workers and communities are unsafe because of the Albanese Labor Government’s weakness and inability to stand up to the CFMEU, whose thuggery has worsened since it was put into administration.

The Albanese Government might have hoped this problem would go away, but it hasn’t. Their set and forget administration process is failing.

What we have is a law-and-order problem that requires a strong and unequivocal response — and that’s precisely what will occur under a Dutton Coalition Government.

A Dutton Coalition Government will do four things to bring thits union and the corrupt and violent elements inside it into line.

Firstly, we will introduce new offences that will allow police to target groups that engage in a pattern of criminal behaviour.

These offences will be based on the highly effective mafia takedown laws in the US. By targeting groups that engage in a pattern of criminal behaviour, these offences will put police in the position where they can target the criminal organisation and its leadership.

This means the bosses and kingpins of groups such as outlaw motorcycle gangs can be jailed even if they distance themselves from the crimes their organisations commit.

Secondly we will crack down on corruption and organised crime in the construction industry by establishing an Australian Federal Police led taskforce bringing together Commonwealth law enforcement agencies and state and territory police forces.

Thirdly we will immediately introduce legislation to deregister the militant construction division of the CFMEU instead of wasting time with an impotent and bureaucratic administration process.

The legislation will not only deregister the union but will also ensure that those involved in lawbreaking and with links to organised crime will not be permitted to take on new leadership roles with any other union or a newly emerged union.

And finally we will reinstate the Australian Building and Construction Commission with increased powers, increased penalties for breaches of the Fair Work Act, and tighten the fit and proper person test for right of entry onto worksites and holding office in a registered organisation.

As Peter Dutton has said the CFMEU is a modern-day mafia operation which needs to be treated as such.

The sad reality is that the culture of criminality and corruption is so entrenched that it will never change – especially under the weak and incompetent Albanese Labor Government.

Australians are sick of the Government’s protection racket of this militant union which continues to break the law.

The fact is that Labor won’t stand up to the CFMEU because Labor has been the beneficiary of over $11.5 million in financial and election campaign support from the CFMEU since Anthony Albanese became the Labor Party leader.

The CFMEU needs to be immediately deregistered and those involved in law-breaking should be blocked from becoming union officials ever again.

Peter Dutton wrote to Mr Albanese this week seeking his support to urgently bring legislation to the Parliament achieve the four outcome I’ve outlined above.

But the Government has already started to offer weak excuses as to why they won’t take on board the Coalition’s sensible options.

Enough is enough. Only a Dutton Coalition Government will stamp out the criminality in our construction industry once and for all.

Michaelia Cash is the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate