Last year, Parliament voted to reintroduce the Australian Building and Construction Commission – delivering a tough cop on the beat to enforce the rule of law and ensure unlawful action on building sites is properly investigated, dealt with and penalised.

At the same time, it voted to introduce a new Building Code for Australian Government funded projects – to end the cartel between the big builders and unions, provide greater protections for small business and prohibit within enterprise agreements which restrict productivity.

The full benefit of these vital reforms will now be realised much sooner.

The Building Code had contained a two year transition period. As a result of last night’s amendments, this is reduced to nine months. Importantly, companies with non-Code compliant agreements can tender for, but not be awarded taxpayer-funded projects during this transition.

All Australians pay a heavy price for union lawlessness and intimidation in Australia’s third largest industry through higher costs, taxes and lost economic opportunities.

The high level of industrial disputes in the construction industry – currently six times the industry average – is estimated to add an additional 30 per cent to the cost of infrastructure.

Our reforms help the construction industry’s 1.1 million workers and 300,000 small construction businesses, who rely on co-operative, productive workplaces and a fair system.

And they will mean better value for taxpayers, who will be able to get more schools, hospitals and roads and other vital public infrastructure than would otherwise be the case.

This is excellent news for small businesses, construction workers and taxpayers and will boost economic growth, encourage job creation and improve Australia’s international competitiveness.

The Labor Party and the Australian Greens proved yet again they are utterly beholden to militant unions. They are shameless in their willingness to sacrifice the national interest in order to appease their union puppet-masters. Bill Shorten has shown when it comes to standing up to union bullies he is the weakest Labor leader in decades.

The Government commends the efforts of crossbench Senators for helping deliver this significant reform. The Turnbull Government continues to show that the 45^th Parliament is continuing to deliver substantial reforms to the benefit of all Australians.