14 December 2009 | AUSTRALIAN Building and Construction Commissioner John Lloyd said he was reassured to find that the courts will deal with threats and abuse towards his staff. Recent penalties imposed by the courts highlight the intimidatory behaviour faced by ABCC inspectors. “A pattern of abusive behaviour directed at inspectors has emerged in Victoria. The conduct is deplorable.” Lloyd said.
19 November 2009 | Having seen the sheer arrogance of some of the of the building unions and their officials over the past twenty plus years and having been involved in the odd stoush Doug Huett is still waiting for someone to take them on and clean the industry up. "I should clarify myself here by stating that I am referring primarily to the commercial building sector and the CFMEU as the principal offending union," he adds.
6 November 2009 | Construction workers have called on 65 year-old Leighton CEO Wal King to lead an industry push to create more jobs for mature workers in the industry. The CFMEU says King has a golden opportunity to stand up for his generation of workers.
4 September 2009 | The national employer body representing Australia's mining and resources sector has raised concerns about changes to the building regulator laws and watering down of the accompanying code.
3 September 2009 | The Master Builders Association of Victoria has launched a new website 'Strong Cop on the Beat' as part of its campaign to defeat the Federal Government's legislation, which waters down the ABCC's powers.
1 September 2009 | Eleven best practice guides have been developed by the Fair Work Ombudsman to assist employers make better use of the provisions of the Fair Work Act and better understand other aspects of workplace laws.
26 August 2009 | The Federal Magistrates Court in Melbourne has ruled on penalties totalling $75,000 proposed under a settlement between the ABCC and the AWU, CEPU, AMWU and three union representatives.
6 August 2009 | Penalties totalling $15,000 were recently imposed on the CFMEU and senior official Noel Washington by the Federal Court.
31 July 2009 | Access Economics projects that construction sector employment may decline by 8.2 per cent over the next three years amounting to a loss of 81,000 jobs.
30 July 2009 | OHS provisions are retained in the latest version of the National Code of Practice for the Construction Industry recently released by the Federal Government.
24 July 2009 | The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry raises legal questions about the ability for Parliament to delegate its powers to allow an assessor to switch off vital coercive investigation powers for a building project.
11 March 2009 | The CFMEU is calling for a greater focus on safety on construction sites following the prosecution of a John Holland in a Federal Court hearing in Queensland.
17 February 2009 | Frequently acting PM and Workplace Relations Minister, Julia Gillard is steadfastly resisting pressure from the left wing elements of the union.
3 February 2009 | Certain clauses in the Bill had the potential to increase the level of industrial disputation and make it harder to reach agreements.
26 November 2008 | Vesting of greater rights in unions under the new proposed industrial relations laws will damage productivity for the building and construction industry.