COMMITTEES

Mr TIM WILSON (Goldstein) (10:23): I move: That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Goldstein moving a motion to refer the following matter to the House Standing Committee on Employment, Workplace Relations, Skills and Training for inquiry and report: The operations of the administration of the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union, including: (a) allegations of corrupt and criminal conduct, including connections to underworld activity whilst in administration; (b) the treatment of union and non-union workers on associated worksites; (c) the impact of CFMEU activity on major infrastructure projects; (d) the adequacy of the scheme of administration; (e) the relationship between the administrator, minister for workplace relations and members of the Australian Labor Party; (f) any other related matters.

We have a fundamental problem at the heart of the Australian democracy right now, where we have a union that is operating beyond the law. This isn't my opinion; this is an opinion of the whistleblowers of the CFMEU. We know full well that, shortly after the administration was established more than 15 months ago by the Albanese government, there were deep, serious allegations of cartel kickbacks from graft connected to Australian organised crime, criminal gangs and bikie gangs on public projects—that the government put the CFMEU in administration because they believed that there was something structurally wrong.

There was something structurally wrong deep within the culture of the CFMEU for one reason: that the Albanese government took the CFMEU off the leash as a result of the abolition of the ABCC. Ever since then, we've had a continuing problem with the CFMEU. We have had issues of corruption directly at the heart of our democracy, and there needs to be proper accountability and responsibility.

We've seen this very directly in recent weeks, where there have been a number of whistleblowers who have come out publicly and said that the situation of corruption in the CFMEU has got worse since it was put in administration. As a consequence, we now have a situation where we have referred the matter to a Senate inquiry to properly investigate the issues around CFMEU corruption.

The minister has been blocking at every point an attempt for an inquiry— The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Scrymgour ): The minister is seeking the call.