Hinch needs to rethink ABCC stance

News today that one of Australia's most violent and militant unions will unleash industrial tactics across the country following Senator Hinch's amendment to introduce a two-year introduction period for the new laws surely requires him to accept that he made a mistake.

The CFMEU has been exposed as having links to the criminal underworld and flagrantly broken the law, leading to millions of dollars in fines issued by the courts.

Having the tough cop back on the beat will be great for the construction industry but some of the amendments moved by the Crossbench, such as the delay from Senator Hinch, are already having the direct effect of allowing the CFMEU to pressure contractors in this militant way.

The kinds of industrial militancy being deployed by the CFMEU today in an effort to thwart the law is exactly why the Building Code was announced in 2014 - to stop this exact kind of extortion at the hands of these dodgy union bosses.

Thuggery, intimidation and industrial blackmail have no place on Australia's building sites and it's clear that Senator Hinch's amendment has unleashed just that.

If Senator Hinch was genuinely concerned with justice and the rule of law, he would be picking up the phone to the government today and saying he made a mistake that he'd like to correct.

Of all people, surely Senator Hinch knows that corruption doesn't need a two year phase out period.

The CFMEU's own behaviour shows why the ABCC should have been legislated in its original form