Королевская комиссия по строительной индустрии Австралии: Отчет и последствия.

The Royal Commission into the Building and Construction Industry, or informally the Cole Royal Commission, was a Royal Commission established by the Australian government to inquire into and report upon alleged misconduct in the building and construction industry in Australia. The establishment of the Commission followed various unsuccessful attempts by the Federal Government to impose greater regulation upon the conduct of industrial relations in that industry. The Royal Commission commenced on 29 August 2001 and was overseen by a sole Royal Commissioner, The Honourable Justice Terence Cole Justice Cole handed the commission's final report to the Governor General on 24 February 2003; and the report was tabled in parliament on 26 and 27 March 2003. Although the Commission found no evidence of organised criminal activity, it did articulate a case that the industry was characterised by lawlessness in the conduct of industrial relations. It recommended sweeping changes to industrial relations laws applicable to the industry. The government's attempts to implement those recommendations stalled in 2004, but were revived in 2005 after the Howard government secured control of the Senate. The Royal Commission led to the enactment of the and the establishment of the Office of the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner (ABCC), an independent statutory authority responsible for monitoring and promoting workplace relations in the Australian building and construction industry. The ABCC was active between October 2005 and May 2012, when, following enactment of the , its functions were superseded by Fair Work Building and Construction, an agency of the Australian government. The agency was re established in December 2016 as the Australian Building and Construction Commission.

In May 1997 the Federal Government, with agreement from the States, prepared a National Building Industry Code of Practice. The government supplemented the Code with Implementation Guidelines. Fundamentally, the Code and the Guidelines were an attempt to regulate the conduct of industrial relations on construction projects funded by government, through the medium of contract rather than legislation. In July 1997 the (then) Department of Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business formed a 'Workplace Reform Group' targeting four industries for reform: the meat processing industry, the coal mining industry, the building and construction industry and the waterfront industry. The Workplace Relations Act and the Trade Practices Act 1974 were to provide the legal tools to deliver reform. The 1998 waterfront dispute was a reflection of the focus placed on these important industries.

At about the time that the Royal Commission was announced, there had been, for some time, open conflict within the Construction and General Division of the CFMEU. On the one side, led by Divisional Secretary John Sutton and NSW Divisional Branch Secretary Andrew Ferguson, forces associated with the old Building Workers' Industrial Union were seeking to maintain their control over the Division. On the other side, led by Victorian and WA Divisional Branch Secretaries, Martin Kingham and Kevin Reynolds, forces associated with the old Builders Labourers Federation were seeking to exert greater influence within the union. The battle for control over the Divisional Conference led to a range of court cases. At one point, the Divisional Secretary, John Sutton, made allegations of organised criminal activity within the union. These allegations were aired on the ABC 4Corners program, and widely cited by government ministers as justifying the calling of a royal commission.

In April 2001 the Minister for Workplace Relations, Tony Abbott, asked the Employment Advocate to provide a report "regarding behaviour in the building industry". In May 2001, the Employment Advocate provided a report which summarised statistics concerning complaints received by his office relating to alleged breaches of Freedom of Association provisions of the Workplace Relations Act; 'coercion' in agreement making, right of entry and strike pay provisions of the Act. The report criticised other law enforcement agencies, alleging that complaints "will simply not be actioned with any priority, or at all". This criticism mirrored certain criticisms levelled at the Victoria Police, after the 1998 waterfront dispute, to the effect that police should have been more aggressively involved in a picket breaking role, rather than merely keeping the peace. The report alleged that, "ill willed" people have ample opportunities to "cause major disruption to a site" by misuse of occupational health and safety procedures. The report alleged misuse of various industry funds, including trust funds established to preserve employee entitlements such as leave pay and superannuation: "There have been allegations that senior union appointed trustees have sought to influence the investment decisions of at least one of these trusts for political and/or industrial purposes." Most dramatically, the report alleged that union officials accepted secret commissions, engaged in bribery, and criminal corrupt conduct. The report concluded that 'there certainly appears to be a case for a broader investigation of the industry', and that 'it would require special investigative powers to gather and elicit information beyond that normally available to a government authority'. Employment Advocate's report, 11 May 2001.

On 29 August 2001, the Governor General issued Commonwealth Letters Patent pursuant to "the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia", the and other enabling powers" appointing The Honourable Justice Terence Cole as the sole Commissioner and the commission's terms of reference. The commissioner was directed " to inquire into certain matters relating to the building and construction industry "

Subsequent to the Royal Commission, Cole was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2005 for "service to the judiciary, particularly judicial administration, to reform of the building and construction industry, and to the community through the Australian Naval Reserve and conservation and arts organisations."

The powers of Royal Commissions in Australia are set out in the enabling legislation, the
Royal Commissions, appointed pursuant to the Royal Commissions Act or otherwise, have powers to issue a summons to a person to appear before the Commission at a hearing to give evidence or to produce documents specified in the summons; require witnesses to take an oath or give an affirmation; and require a person to deliver documents to the Commission at a specified place and time. A person served with a summons or a notice to produce documents must comply with that requirement, or face prosecution for an offence. The penalty for conviction upon such an offence is a fine of or six months imprisonment. A Royal Commission may authorise the Australian Federal Police to execute search warrants.

There were two legal proceedings brought against the Cole Commission during 2002. The first, brought in the name of Martin Kingham and others, was conducted on behalf of the Victorian Building Unions Divisional Branch of the Construction and General Division of the CFMEU. The second, brought in the name of Andrew Ferguson and others, was conducted on behalf of the NSW Divisional Branch of the Construction and General Division of the CFMEU. Neither of these challenges were successful.

An Interim Building Industry Taskforce Report was delivered on 15 August 2002; and a Building Industry Taskforce Report delivered. The Commissioner presented his final report to the Governor General on 24 February 2003; and the report was tabled in Parliament on 26 and 27 March 2003.

The Government responded to the 212 recommendations of the Royal Commission; allocated more than $136 million in the 2004 05 Federal Budget; and appointed Colin Thatcher as a member of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission. On 2 April 2003, Federal Cabinet decided to extend the operation of the Building Industry Task Force, pending the establishment of the proposed Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC). Cabinet also supported separate legislation to regulate the construction industry. On 25 March 2004, the Minister announced that the taskforce would become a permanent body, and would 'continue to operate until the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Bill is passed by this Parliament', and the ABCC established.

Nil.

The Building and Construction Industry Improvement Bill 2003 was tabled in Parliament; with an Explanatory Memorandum circulated by Minister. The Minister delivered his Second Reading Speech on 6 November 2003. In 2004, the Parliamentary Library published an analysis of the Bill's history. In October 2003 the Senate referred the Bill to the Employment, Workplace Relations and Education References Committee for inquiry and report. The Committee received submissions, conducted hearings, and tabled its Report on 21 June 2004. The Committee, by a majority composed of Senators from the Democrats and Labor, recommended that the Senate oppose the government's legislation. Government senators on the Committee, in minority, recommended that the legislation be passed. Passage of the Bill stalled. The Coalition government was returned at the 2004 election and secured control of the Senate with effect from July 2005. On 4 November 2004, the Minister for Workplace Relations Kevin Andrews announced that the legislation would be reintroduced into the new Parliament. The revised 2005 Bill passed both houses and was enacted, with Assent given to the on 12 September 2005.

The Act enabled the establishment of an independent statutory authority, the Office of the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner (ABCC). The role of the ABCC was to monitor and promote appropriate standards of conduct throughout the building and construction industry. The ABCC operated between 2005 and 2012.

The Commission's own estimate of its expenditures, as at the date of publishing its report, was that it had spent approximately 60 million. This figure makes this Royal Commission one of the most expensive in Australia's history.