Master Builders show true colours with pro-ABCC ads

Published: 4 Apr 2022

The Master Builders' campaign to save the ABCC while ignoring the plight of subbies and contractors left out of pocket when massive developers collapse shows the organisation only represents the interests of the big end of town and their friends in the Liberal Party.

“The MBA's love for the ABCC, a failed regulator that ignores rampant wage theft and which has not prosecuted a single case of sham contracting in an industry where it is rife, comes as no surprise,” said Dave Noonan, CFMEU National Construction Secretary.

“The Master Builders only represents the interests of the big developers and international building corporations who hold subcontractors to ransom and try to undercut wages in the industry.”

“The MBA is silent when big builders like Probuild and Condev collapse owing subcontractors and workers millions of dollars.”

“As an organisation they have campaigned for years against reform to security of payment laws that would force builders to hold the money they owe to subcontractors and workers in trust to ensure they can make their payments. While the MBA sits on its hands, the subcontractors who do the bulk of the work and employ the majority of workers in construction are forced to underwrite the profits of big developers who refuse to pay on time or at all.”

“It is no surprise the Master Builders would support a failed regulator that makes it easier for the developers from the big end of town to maximise their profits by ripping off the workers who build our cities and critical infrastructure.”

“The ABCC is a hopelessly biased regulator that relentlessly pursues construction workers for sticking for their rights and seeking their entitlements while running a protection racket for dodgy bosses who steal their wages and put their lives at risk.”

“Since 2016 the ABCC has hit 252 individual workers with $530,800 in fines and penalties, substantially more than the $513,255 they have imposed on a handful of employers. Most of these workers were fined for attending stop-work meetings or participating in industrial action that would not see workers prosecuted in any other industry.”

“The ABCC has an obligation to act as an independent and unbiased regulator in the construction industry and NOT as a politically motivated attack dog to be wielded as a weapon against workers and their unions.”

“The MBA should know the ABCC stands condemned by its own record of failure and its refusal to act as an independent and unbiased regulator.”

“It is well established that the MBA are rusted on supporters of the LNP and some of their senior officers are long-term active members of the Liberal Party, but for once they should put the interests of MBA member subcontractors ahead of their own political ambitions.”