"The Australian Industry Group welcomes today's High Court ruling that comprehensively validates the legal legitimacy of the decision to place various branches of the CFMEU's construction division into administration," said Innes Willox, Chief Executive of national employer association the Australian Industry Group.
"This major decision clears the path for genuine, fundamental and lasting reform of the union.
"The union's history of outrageous misconduct and its entanglement with criminal elements must now serve as a catalyst for decisive and lasting change.
"The Court's ruling removes any barriers to the administrator intensifying efforts to ensure that the union undertakes lawful representation of working Australians in a manner that is not only free from criminal influence but also reflects community expectations of acceptable behaviour.
"Changing decades of entrenched culture – which has seen some CFMEU officials and members operate as if they were above the law – is no small task. Nor is confronting the union's past tolerance, and in some cases invitation, of criminal association.
"The administrator should now be better placed to move decisively without the distraction of the High Court challenge. We look forward to seeing robust plans to reform the CFMEU's culture and conduct, embed integrity measures, and ensure the union operates within the law and in the genuine interests of its members.
"Today's decision also puts the onus on Governments to get on with the job of implementing broader reforms to address the industrial practices in the building and construction industry that have undoubtedly had, and continue to have, a significant negative impact on our economy and community.
"Placing the CFMEU into temporary administration should only have ever been the first step in implementing a comprehensive and long overdue regulatory response to the entrenched problems that have plagued the sector. We need to tackle deficiencies in our system that enabled the well-known problems in the construction sector to both evolve and fester. This needs to go further than just rooting out bikies and criminals.
"This now needs to extend to what has been viewed by many as the systematic misuse by the CFMEU of the workplace relations system and the special privileges that the union is afforded under it, as well as the routine engagement in abusive and intimidating behaviour by union representatives.
"Suffice it to say that industry has, to date, been underwhelmed by the achievements of the administration. Beyond addressing criminality, there is a real sense that the administration has shown far too much acceptance of continuing a 'business as usual' approach to the CFMEU's practices. The Government must now take concrete steps to ensure the CFMEU's failures are never repeated – in any sector or union.
"Working Australians deserve trade union representation that is lawful, accountable and trustworthy.
"We urge the Government to outline the broader next steps it will take, now that the Court has removed uncertainty, to drive meaningful reform in the construction sector for the benefit of employees, industry participants and the broader community," Mr Willox said.
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