Building sector employers as well as construction union representatives found to have done the wrong thing should face the full force of the law, Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt has declared.
The minister is preparing for an imminent crackdown on the construction division of the CFMEU with legislation going to Parliament on Monday giving him the power to place it into administration.
At this stage, the administrator is expected to take over the NSW, Victorian, Queensland, Tasmanian, Northern Territory and South Australian branches of the union.
However, Senator Watt has flagged that this could be expanded to include the WA and ACT branches.
“There is no place for criminality, corruption, thuggery, bullying, intimidation in any workplace in Australia, and if it takes legislation to fix that, that’s what we’re prepared to do,” he told Sky News on Sunday.
The CFMEU’s national executive has appointed anti-corruption expert Geoffrey Watson to examine allegations of criminality and bikie infiltration into its ranks.
But Senator Watt said the problems appeared to “go so deep” that the national secretary could not deal with them alone.
He said he would not be surprised if police investigations and the administration process resulted in charges against union figures and employers.
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“I want to acknowledge that, you know, for every bribe that has allegedly been made to an official, there’s a person who’s paid that bribe,” Senator Watt said.
“So we need to take a good look at the actions of some employers in the industry as well.
“It doesn’t matter who’s done the wrong thing; they should have the book thrown at them.”
He demanded that the Coalition and Greens get on board to ensure swift passage of the legislation.
However, shadow minister Michaelia Cash will not be briefed on the bill until early Monday morning, although The West understands there have been some preliminary discussions at an adviser level.
Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather said his party was yet to see the actual legislation despite Senator Watt saying he had had a “constructive discussion” with party leader Adam Bandt last week.
He refused to say whether the Greens would likely back the move, labelling the situation absurd.
“The government’s trying to kick off a debate about a piece of legislation they won’t show any of the parliamentarians they’re asking to pass,” Mr Chandler-Mather said.
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“This is typical of the government, by the way … It’s frankly not clear if they’re at all fit to govern at the moment.”
The Government anticipates showing the draft legislation to other parties on Sunday afternoon.