Doorstop, Adelaide

E&OE TRANSCRIPT

AMANDA RISHWORTH, MINISTER FOR EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS:  The Albanese Labor Government welcomes the decision by the High Court to uphold our legislation and scheme of administration, which placed an administrator into the CFMEU Construction and General Division. The Government will not tolerate criminal behaviour, corruption, and violence in the construction sector. We need to focus on shifting the culture that has allowed for bad actors to infiltrate the construction industry, and we need to keep them out. Construction workers deserve a union that's free from criminality, corruption, and violence. This decision today allows the administrator to continue with confidence on doing their essential job of cleaning up the CFMEU Construction and General Division. Our Government is committed to the administrator remaining in place until the job is done. And we will continue to provide the administrator and his team with the essential support that he needs to get the job done. I'll go to questions.

JOURNALIST: The administrator has said the court matter had impeded the administration's ability to obtain full and frank disclosures from complainants because of the possibility they could return. Are you confident today's decision will address those issues?

AMANDA RISHWORTH: The decision today gives confidence in the scheme of administration and the important work that the administrator is doing. My message is that the administrator can get on and do its job. There are whistleblower protections in the Registered Organisations Act. But my important message today is this decision allows the scheme of administration to continue, and our Government is committed to that scheme until the job is done.

JOURNALIST: You touched on the whistleblower protections. Do you have any plans to build on those so that people can speak frankly to the administrators?

AMANDA RISHWORTH: I would say that this decision today gives confidence in the scheme of administration. Secondly, there are in the Registered Organisation Act, whistleblower protections, but also there are whistleblower protections within the scheme. I will work across the industry, across the sector, to consider whether any further whistleblower protections are needed. But people should have confidence, with this decision today, that the scheme is valid and it can continue to do its work. And our Government is committed to that work until it is done.

JOURNALIST: Now that there's been this definitive ruling from the High Court, are you hopeful that the hostility between some of the CFMEU members and the government will die down?

AMANDA RISHWORTH: Well, I'll be really clear. Union members deserve a union that is free from corruption and violence, and criminality. We need to ensure that members have a union that is working for them and is free of those elements. So, I believe very much that the process of administration is working to clean up the union, and the members deserve no less.

JOURNALIST: And what is your message to people who might previously have been concerned about coming forward with information to the administrators?

AMANDA RISHWORTH: Well, my message is very clear is that the High Court today has ruled that - has ruled to uphold our legislation and our scheme of administration, and our Government is absolutely committed to administration until the job is done. That should give people confidence to come forward and speak with the administrator if they have any information to provide.

JOURNALIST: And just wondering what happens now?

AMANDA RISHWORTH: I would have to say that the administrator and his team has been doing really important work over the last six months and has been uncovering and taking action in a range of circumstances to clean up the union. What I expect is that the Administrator will continue to do that really important and essential work. Of course, as Minister I will continue to work with the construction industry sector through our NCIF, a very important forum, which looks at the long-term viability and importance of the construction sector to make sure that we have a long-term plan to ensure this critical industry in our country is the best it can be.