Australians deserve law and order in construction

November 11, 2026

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Contributors

Jane Hume

Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Shadow Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations, Shadow Minister for Productivity and Deregulation, Senator for Victoria

Articles

In 1918, after four years of catastrophic world war, an armistice took effect. The guns ceased. The fighting ended. The slaughter stopped. From that exact moment when silence gripped the battlefield came a sacred tradition of people falling silent too. In the 11th month. On the 11th day. At the 11th hour. A profound national pause. A simple Read More >

Economic Address to Business Sydney

November 9, 2026

Check against delivery Paul – thank you for your introduction. And can I commend you, Dan, and the entire Business Sydney team for what you do. Yes, you advocate on behalf of businesses across Sydney. But you’re also helping to mobilise businesses across the nation at this critical time for our nation. Ladies and gentlemen: Read More >

Labor continues to prevent scrutiny of corruption in construction, and has scrapped the tough cop on the beat experts are calling for. Master Builders Australia has delivered another damning warning about the corruption, criminality and intimidation infecting Australia's construction industry, exposing the Albanese Labor Government's failure to deliver lasting reform. In its Built to Last report, Master Builders Australia has called for a powerful national construction regulator, stronger laws to keep corrupt officials out of the industry and greater protections for whistleblowers. Sadly, under Labor we have seen the dismantling of the Australian Building and Construction Commission and the Registered Organisations Commission. Despite Commissions investigating corruption in two of Australia’s states, billions of taxpayer dollars being misused through corruption and organised crime, Labor and the Greens won’t even vote for the Senate to have an inquiry. Deputy Leader of the Opposition and Shadow Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations Senator Jane Hume said the report reinforced the Coalition's longstanding commitment to restore a strong cop on the beat in the construction industry and to push for the Senate to use its powers to inquire into the sector. "Australians deserve construction sites governed by the rule of law, not the law of the jungle." "Master Builders has made it abundantly clear that corruption in construction is costing Australians and it has to stop. Any government who cares about fighting this corruption should listen to her warning and act today. "Labor’s first instinct was to abolish the Australian Building and Construction Commission. Now, four years later, the industry is telling them we desperately need a specialist regulator with stronger powers. “And Labor have not only dismantled the tools that Master Builders is calling for, they have repeatedly voted against any inquiry into the corruption in the sector - despite the evidence of billions of dollars of waste, violence and extortion. "Labor should own up to its stuff up and join the Liberals and Nationals in reintroducing a stronger ABCC, scrapping the incentives for union control over Commonwealth procurement, and voting for a Senate inquiry into corruption in construction." "Australians should ask themselves: if Labor genuinely wants to stamp out corruption, why is it so determined to prevent the Parliament from investigating it? Why won’t it implement the recommendations of experts in construction to get rid of corruption? And why won’t Labor commit to removing the incentives that experts have said led to the corruption in the first place?”