Renewed Call For Tough Cop on the Beat

Master Builders Australia today renewed its call to Government to retain the powers of the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) within its replacement body, a specialist division of the Fair Work Ombudsman from 1 February 2010.

Wilhelm Harnisch, CEO of Master Builders said: “The exercise of the ABCC powers has delivered sustained productivity gains of around 10 per cent to the construction industry which we cannot afford to lose. This reinforces the need for the continuation of an industry watchdog, “the tough cop on the beat.”

The Wilcox Report states why the successor needs the full powers of the ABCC. Mr Wilcox found that: “The ABCC has made a significant contribution to improve conduct and harmony in the building and construction industry, but there is still some way to go.”

The industry’s call follows the release today of the latest KPMG Econtech report commissioned by Master Builders that clearly demonstrates the economic benefits of the ABCC in lifting productivity and in promoting industrial harmony in the industry.

“This 2009 update report, the third, once again confirms what contractors have been reporting; which is that the construction industry has seen a significant lift in productivity and industrial harmony since the ABCC was established,” said Mr Harnisch.

“The gains made in recent years will be lost if the powers of the ABCC were to be abolished or if the powers of its replacement body were to be watered down from February 2010.”

The Econtech Construction Industry Productivity 2009 report card shows that there have been significant improvements across a range of productivity measures:

o 6.2 per cent productivity gain in commercial building relative to residential building since 2004;
o 9.4 per cent addition to labour productivity in the construction industry due to the ABCC and associated reforms; and
o 10.2 per cent outperformance in construction industry labour productivity compared to predictions based on historical performance to 2002.

“Every Australian citizen benefits from the ABCC’s work. The report reveals an ongoing economic welfare gain of $5.5 billion per annum to the community because of the ABCC.

The report also shows the economy wide benefits in terms of higher GDP and lower CPI outcomes.
Via http://www.masterbuilders.com.au/about.html