Who wants the ABCC?

Any reasonable person who has looked at the powers of the ABCC knows it is a truly radical and extreme outfit.

When it was introduced in 2005 by then-Industrial Relations Minister Tony Abbott it was sold as a sensible measure, which would have the backing of at least the conservative side of Australian society.
But fast-forward to today and who is willing to stand up and defend this unnecessary and unfair organisation?

The odd newspaper scribbler is prepared to claim that removing the ABCC would be bad for the construction business.

That argument might hold water - until somebody actually asks a construction giant CEO like Lend Lease's Steve McCann how worried he is about the prospect of the ABCC being removed.

When interviewed by ABCC cheer-squad leader Robert Gottliebsen over the impact the removal of the ABCC would have on his bottom line, Mr McCann couldn't have been more lukewarm in his endorsement of the commission.

"The reality is I think the bigger drivers will be the amount of commercial work that's on," he said.
"Material costs and everything else, when you factor in all those contributions I'm not sure that that is a bigger driver in any way."

So Lend Lease isn't prepared to stand up for the ABCC, but you would think that our leading right-wing think-tank would go into bat for John Lloyd's mob, wouldn't you?

The Institute of Public Affairs has been hand in glove with the Liberal Party since it was established in the 1940s. It traditionally champions privatisation and deregulation, climate change scepticism and attacks on the role of unions. But this time I have to say I couldn't agree more with the IPA.

In an article published on September 4, Chris Berg from the Institute says union members targeted by the ABCC deserve their civil liberties, which are currently being denied.

He goes on to note the Commission constitutes the use of "coercive and unjust state power."

The ABCC singles out construction workers and strips them of their rights. In return it offers no benefit to anyone.

If the Institute of Public Affairs and Lend Lease aren't prepared to back it, why on earth should the Australian Government?

Dave Noonan, CFMEU C&G Division National Secretary and the Rights on Site Team