Cash lash for Lendlease ‘cartel’

The Australian, February 17, 2017:

Employment Minister Michaelia Cash has declared the government’s new building code is needed to address the ‘‘cartel-like behaviour’’ of major builders, including property giant Lendlease.

Senator Cash hit out at Lendlease and Probuild over their pay deals with the construction union.

She told parliament she had spoken to small and medium sized businesses who said ‘‘they cannot stand up to the CFMEU, they cannot stand up to Lendlease; they cannot stand up to Probuild’’.

She said shortening the period that builders had to be code compliant to get commonwealth work was designed to send a message to the union and the ‘‘big end of town’’. ‘I am not going to blame the CFMEU here, because … it takes two to tango,’’ she said. ‘‘So I am going to lump Lendlease in there and I am going to lump Probuild in there, on Hansard. I am going to say to them: ‘The reason we are doing this is to stop your cartel-like behaviour’.’’