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Australian PM slams trade union "thuggery" in fresh pitch for construction watchdog

Xinhua, October 18, 2016 Adjust font size:

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Tuesday hinted at the reintroduction of a construction union watchdog bill in Parliament, after he saw footage of a trade union official abusing a worksite supervisor.

Earlier this year the government tried to stamp out trade union corruption by introducing a bill to reinstate the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) - a building watchdog which was scrapped under the previous Labor government.

The opposition Labor Party, which is backed by the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), was able to block the bill from passing Parliament earlier in the year, but it's back in the government's sights after it was revealed Turnbull could have enough Senate votes to pass the legislation if it is reintroduced.

Turnbull said the video, in which a "lawless" CFMEU official threatens a worksite safety supervisor, was an indictment on the union, and a building and construction watchdog would stamp out any "thuggery" and within the building sector.

"We have seen example after example of bullying and stand-over tactics, thuggery and lawlessness of the CFMEU," Turnbull told the press on Tuesday.

"You've seen the new tape, new video and the threats on the Commonwealth Games site on the Gold Coast. This is the type of thuggery that has to stop. The rule of law must prevail everywhere in Australia including in the construction and building sector which is so critical to economic growth."

Turnbull would have enough votes in the Senate to pass the bill, so long as he secures sufficient minor party support. Liberal Democratic Party Senator David Leyonhjelm has already pledged to support the bill, but only if Australia's gun laws are relaxed to allow a rapid-fire Adler shotgun to be legalized.

Turnbull refused to comment on speculation he would alter Australia's gun laws, which were introduced by former Prime Minister John Howard after the Port Arthur Massacre, in which 35 people were killed by a gunman with a semi-automatic rifle in 1996. Endit