Federal election 2016: deals putting (Labor) people first

Bill Shorten’s election slogan is “putting people first”. How very insincere. If this slogan were truthful it would read, “putting Labor people first”. Events in the ­Victorian construction sector are the most recent example.

Over the next four years, more than $28 billion of public funds will be spent on Victorian infrastructure. Things are looking up for ­federal Labor; the polls give them a chance at the election. In a flush of optimism, handshake deals are being done behind closed doors. Just in case Shorten wins, ­construction unions and their ­favoured construction firms are pre-emptively dividing up the spoils, with verbal agreement on a draft enterprise bargaining ­agreement.

If Labor wins, a certain EBA will be signed and rolled out across Victoria’s construction sector. Any company that wants government work will have to sign it and have union ­officials sign it too.

In return for union signatures, officials must be kept happy; a “union relationship” will have to be fostered. You may let your imagination run wild with the possibilities.

This EBA will artificially inflate the cost of construction. According to a report from Deloitte, if this EBA is applied over the next four years, citizens will pay $806 million more than they should for things they need built, such as roads and hospitals.

The Labor construction money-go-round works like this; your tax dollars flow from Labor to businesses, from businesses to ­unions, and from unions back to Labor. It is a lucrative racket.

No one wants construction workers to be poorly paid, and they are not. Deloitte says Victorian unskilled labourers already earn about $151,000 per year and ­carpenters $163,000. If these are the wages that apply to people at the bottom of the ­ladder, can you imagine what the salaries are up the chain? Then there is the cost of all the bribes and ­“entertainment ­expenses”.

If the Coalition wins the election, this EBA will not apply. Any building company that signed it would be denied government work. Construction would occur in accordance with a code of conduct, applied to the building companies. The ABCC would ­enforce it and ensure price rigging did not occur.