Disgraceful treatment of subcontractors must stop

Dealing with the consequences of companies indifferent and seemingly immune to laws enshrined within the Criminal Code should not be a cost of doing business in Queensland.

“IT’S called fraud. There’s no other name for it.” That’s the opinion of one of Australia’s most experienced construction industry executives who says it is more than time for governments to get tough.

David Chandler, now an adjunct professor at the University of Western Sydney, led the construction team for Australia’s new Parliament House.

He was chief executive of Fletcher Construction Group’s Australian, New Zealand, Pacific, Asian and North American operations, and has experience in project formation and procurement for health, education and defence, as well as large-scale housing development and urban renewal.

Mr Chandler knows the Australian construction industry inside out and what he sees disturbs him. He has called it for what it is – the failure by principal contractors to pay their subcontractors for work properly done.

And Mr Chandler is dismissive of the Queensland Police simply referring on to ASIC numerous fraud complaints from subcontractors, who are reeling after a succession of liquidations in the industry since 2013 that have left more than 7000 unsecured creditors owed around $500 million.

“We’ve seen from the banking royal commission where ASIC has been out to lunch,” Mr Chandler says.

Has the Queensland Police Service been similarly lax, or has it simply lacked the resources and skill set to properly investigate the detailed allegations put to it since 2016?

The Palaszczuk Government says the Financial and Cyber Crime Group is adequately resourced. Yet, since 2013, no charges have been laid over the collapse of major builders in Queensland, and nobody who has lodged fraud complaints has been formally interviewed before their matters were shunted off to ASIC.

Mr Chandler says there is no integrity in the system, a view that is hard to contradict.

Dealing with the consequences of companies indifferent and seemingly immune to laws enshrined within the Criminal Code should not be a cost of doing business in Queensland.

The level of debt left unpaid and the number of small businesses affected deserves a meaningful response.

Housing Minister Mick de Brenni says reforms introduced in December will ensure everyone working in the building industry is paid in full. Picture: Clare Armstrong

The Palaszczuk Government has shown an eagerness to act in this space.

New building industry “fairness reforms”, which were introduced in December last year, will ensure “everyone working in the building industry is paid in full, on time, every time”, according to the Minister for Housing Mick de Brenni.

This month, new minimum financial requirements were introduced in an effort to help the Queensland Building and Construction Commission detect and mitigate against builder insolvencies.

The Labor administration has also established a trust account system for public-funded building projects valued at between $1 million and $10 million to ensure subcontractors get paid.

Yet despite all this, there continues to be cases of builders collapsing and subcontractors being left unpaid.

With the steep downturn in dwelling approvals occurring Australia-wide, particularly in Queensland where numbers have dipped sharply following the apartment building boom, there is significant risk that more builders will fail and leave a trail of debts.

So it is essential that the Palaszczuk Government acts on the clear evidence of an industry in crisis and establishes a police taskforce with the resources and expertise to fully investigate and, where appropriate, prosecute to the law’s full extent. A clear signal is essential that illegal behaviour in the industry will not be tolerated.

Until that happens, behaviour that would be considered intolerable in any other endeavour, will continue to destroy lives and ruin Queensland small businesses.

NRL sends clear DV message

NRL CEO Todd Greenberg. Picture: Adam Yip

TODD Greenberg, the National Rugby League chief executive, had no choice but to ban former North Queensland Cowboy Ben Barba from the game for life. The Mackay product and one-time Dally M Player of the Year has repeatedly failed to live up to the standards expected of him as a professional rugby league player.

“It’s time for Ben Barba to find a new vocation,” Greenberg said yesterday. His decision could not have come soon enough.

The 29-year-old’s latest indiscretion involved an alleged physical altercation with his partner Ainslie Currie on Australia Day after the pair spent seven hours at the Townsville Casino.

His $300,000 contract with the Cowboys was torn up after team management were informed of the incident. His return would have enlivened criticism that the penalties of professional sport often appear to be applied at inverse proportions to a player’s ability.

Players less talented than Barba have certainly been forced out of rugby league for lesser indiscretions.

Barba’s NRL ban will be to the detriment of his young family. He and Currie have four daughters.

But he must wear the blame for that.

No sport should provide a player with the privilege of playing their code professionally when that individual is involved in acts of domestic violence.

Rugby league particularly has battled with an image problem among women and the game’s administrators have worked hard to improve it.

If society is going to stamp out domestic violence, it needs to take a stand beyond just applying criminal sanctions to perpetrators. A clear message must be sent that these despicable acts are unacceptable. Thankfully, the NRL has finally done that with Ben Barba.

Responsibility for election comment is taken by Sam Weir, corner of Mayne Rd & Campbell St, Bowen Hills, Qld 4006. Printed and published by NEWSQUEENSLAND (ACN 009 661 778). Contact details are available at www.couriermail.com.au/help/contact-us