❓ The question criticises the government's proposed Best Practice Industry Conditions policy, suggesting it will increase costs and decrease productivity. The Premier's answer deflects, referencing past issues in the construction industry and advocating for fair treatment of workers and subcontractors.
AnsweredQoN 463Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY — BEST PRACTICE
INDUSTRY CONDITIONS POLICY
463. Ms L. METTAM to the Premier:
I refer to the Premier's
commitment to introducing a best practice industry conditions policy—BPIC—and
reports that it has driven up building costs by 30 per cent in Queensland.
(1) Why is the
government pursuing a policy that will increase construction costs while
decreasing productivity, further exacerbating the issues affecting our
construction sector?
(2) Why are WA contractors being
forced, through government policy, to have a unionised workforce?
INDUSTRY CONDITIONS POLICY
463. Ms L. METTAM to the Premier:
I refer to the Premier's
commitment to introducing a best practice industry conditions policy—BPIC—and
reports that it has driven up building costs by 30 per cent in Queensland.
(1) Why is the
government pursuing a policy that will increase construction costs while
decreasing productivity, further exacerbating the issues affecting our
construction sector?
(2) Why are WA contractors being
forced, through government policy, to have a unionised workforce?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I
remember watching, when in opposition, those opposite stewarding the
construction of Perth Children's Hospital. Apart from the fact that it
was like watching a train wreck in slow motion, I remember the significant
unrest and concern in the community at that time as a result of subcontractors
not being paid invoices on time by primary contractors. We saw the
extraordinary stress related to that. If I remember correctly, I think there
was even one subcontractor who sadly took their life because of the financial pressures and burdens they were put under. That is
the sort of building industry that we inherited from those opposite. We saw subcontractors' employees
abused for their work, day in and day out, and subcontractors bullied by
larger contractors. There was untold unrest right across the construction
sector.
Maybe I am a bit old-fashioned, but I
just think that someone who does a fair day's work should get a fair
day's pay. I do not want to see someone who has done everything they
can to build up their small business in the construction industry and employs
even just a handful of people as part of their endeavour and enterprise driven to ruin or bankruptcy simply
because of standover tactics or the withholding of contractual moneys by
a major contractor. That was the scenario we saw writ large under the previous
government. We want to see a fair go in all our workplaces. We want
subcontractors' invoices paid in a timely fashion, we want employees to
be treated with respect and receive decent wages and conditions for their work
and, most of all, we want people to be able to go home at the end of the day to
see their loved ones, free of injury or death. The construction industry is a complex
place. The conviction of our government is to provide
a sense of fair go and fair play. It is our fundamental belief that by having
respect in the workplace , we can make Western Australia a better place
in which to live, work and do business.
remember watching, when in opposition, those opposite stewarding the
construction of Perth Children's Hospital. Apart from the fact that it
was like watching a train wreck in slow motion, I remember the significant
unrest and concern in the community at that time as a result of subcontractors
not being paid invoices on time by primary contractors. We saw the
extraordinary stress related to that. If I remember correctly, I think there
was even one subcontractor who sadly took their life because of the financial pressures and burdens they were put under. That is
the sort of building industry that we inherited from those opposite. We saw subcontractors' employees
abused for their work, day in and day out, and subcontractors bullied by
larger contractors. There was untold unrest right across the construction
sector.
Maybe I am a bit old-fashioned, but I
just think that someone who does a fair day's work should get a fair
day's pay. I do not want to see someone who has done everything they
can to build up their small business in the construction industry and employs
even just a handful of people as part of their endeavour and enterprise driven to ruin or bankruptcy simply
because of standover tactics or the withholding of contractual moneys by
a major contractor. That was the scenario we saw writ large under the previous
government. We want to see a fair go in all our workplaces. We want
subcontractors' invoices paid in a timely fashion, we want employees to
be treated with respect and receive decent wages and conditions for their work
and, most of all, we want people to be able to go home at the end of the day to
see their loved ones, free of injury or death. The construction industry is a complex
place. The conviction of our government is to provide
a sense of fair go and fair play. It is our fundamental belief that by having
respect in the workplace , we can make Western Australia a better place
in which to live, work and do business.
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