Government left red-faced as building watchdog chief quits
THE head of the Turnbull government’s building industry watchdog resigned yesterday after admitting to breaching workplace laws.
Employment Minister Michaelia Cash said she had accepted the resignation of Australian Building and Construction Commission boss Nigel Hadgkiss.
“The government thanks Mr Hadgkiss for his service and wishes him well in his future endeavours,” she said.
The resignation is an embarrassment for the government after its attacks on union lawlessness and use of legislation to resurrect the John Howard-created ABCC as a trigger for the 2016 doubledissolution election.
Mr Hadgkiss admitted on Tuesday he had misrepresented union rights to employers over a period of two years.
In court documents, he admitted that in December 2013 he directed the agency not to publish Labor government changes to right-of-entry laws that were due to come into effect in January 2014, The Australian reported.
Labor spokesman Brendan O’Connor said Senator Cash must explain how Mr Hadgkiss could have been in breach of the Fair Work Act for almost three years, “apparently without her knowing about it”.
“The conduct of Mr Hadgkiss has been called into question time and time again, yet the Minister has stood by him and his performance,” he said in a statement.
Mr Hadgkiss faces thousands of dollars in penalties in a Federal Court action brought by the CFMEU.