Senator Eric Abetz

Labor’s hypocrisy knows no bounds.

Just last week Julia Gillard was going to great lengths to try and convince us that the reason Labor’s proposed legislation to abolish the Australian Building and Construction Commission has not been enacted is due to “obstructionist factors” by the Senate.

The legislation was due to be debated this week in the Senate but once again Labor has withdrawn the debate.

Who is being “obstructionist” now Ms Gillard?

Labor’s plan to replace the ABCC with a watered down version within Fair Work Australia is clearly falling apart, despite the Minister’s urgent pronouncement that Labor would deliver on its election commitment to do so by 1 February 2010.

If there was so much urgency in bringing on this debate in the Senate Ms Gillard, why are you determined to stonewall the debate at every opportunity?

Despite Ms Gillard’s claims, Labor does not have a mandate to implement the changes in its proposed bill and the Coalition welcomes debate on the proposed legislation.

The ABCC is the tough cop on the beat, evidenced by the recent record fines, totalling more than 1.3 million dollars, handed down against militant unions for illegal behaviour in Victoria.

No amount of spin by Ms Gillard can hide the fact that Labor’s attempts to water down the current powers the ABCC has to impose effective penalties on rogue elements within the union movement, is nothing more than payback to it’s union puppet masters for bankrolling them at the last election.