The Australian Greens have said Labor and the Liberals have teamed up to ram through rushed CFMEU legislation in an unprecedented attack on the rule of law.
The Greens say that by doing a rushed deal to pass the flawed legislation, Labor and Liberal have ensured Michaelia Cash will be able to appoint a new administrator of the CFMEU if there is a change of government.
Over the weekend the NSW Council for Civil Liberties said the powers set out in Labor’s bill were “far-reaching” and established a dangerous precedent for the trade union movement and the rights of individuals to “natural justice and procedural fairness”.
As stated by Leader of the Australian Greens, Adam Bandt MP:
“The Greens will always oppose sexism, corruption, thuggery and bullying, but Labor and the Liberals have just cut a deal to ram through flawed and draconian laws that threaten fundamental rights.
“Civil liberties groups have rightly said this bill is a threat to freedom of association and the rights of all unions and membership based organisations.
“This bill means that if there is a change of government, Michaelia Cash could appoint Tony Abbott to be administrator of one of Australia’s most significant unions.
“The Greens told the government we were prepared to negotiate on the legislation and seek to address some of the serious concerns in the bill, but instead Labor has worked with the anti-union, anti-worker Liberals.”
