“Federal Parliament needs to look no further than the video which surfaced today of a union official’s threatening conduct on a Queensland building site when it comes to voting on the restoration of the Australian Building and Construction Commission,” Business Council Chief Executive Jennifer Westacott said.

“While employers, employees and unions all have a responsibility to maintain a healthy and productive culture in Australia’s building and construction industry, the unlawful and deplorable behaviour exhibited in this video does not present a good picture of union conduct.

“This is the kind of evidence that four Royal Commissions have called out and called for the reestablishment of the ABCC. How many more Royal Commissions, how many more videos, how many more people intimidated in the workplace, and how much more unnecessary costs of construction do we want before we take action to stop this behaviour from occurring?

“The building industry employs over 1 million people and is our third biggest employing industry, so the role of the ABCC in stamping out unlawful and inappropriate conduct will be critical in restoring a culture in the industry which will lower the costs of construction and improve productivity.

“With almost 20 per cent of young people working full time in building and construction, restoring a better workplace culture in this industry will be vital for attracting the apprentices and younger skilled workers needed to grow the industry and its contribution to the economy. No parent would want their son or daughter subjected to the sort of behaviour seen in the video which was released today.

“There is no longer any legitimate reason why the parliament would not vote without further delay to approve the Bill to restore the ABCC and get our vital building and construction industry back on track again,” Ms Westacott said.