Fighting for Subbies Rights
At the state election, put the LNP where they put subcontractors, suppliers and the community, LAST!
SubbiesUnited and Subcontractors Alliance believe that if the LNP clowns are elected in the Queensland State election, they will bow to their big end of town mates the MBQ and the HIA and dismantle the Qld Labor Governments new Building Industry Fairness Legislation designed to protect subbies payments.
The LNP have history in kicking the shit out of subbies in support of the MBQ and the HIA, there is no reason to doubt they will do it again.
LNP's Abysmal Systematic Abuse of Subcontractors
The MBQ and the HIA have their hooks so deeply into the LNP, subcontractors cannot trust them to do the right thing if they win government on the 25th November.
In 1996 LNP put 65,000 subcontractors last
In 1996 the LNP Government initiated a commission of inquiry into security of payment in the QLD construction industry - the Scurr Inquiry.
- The commissioner found systematic abuse and non-payment of subcontractors across QLD.
- He reported that he was not prepared for the financial devastation he encountered.
- He reported having his business interests threatened by other members of his inquiry panel if he recommended the introduction of trusts (PBA’s) and other measures to secure subcontractors payments.
- Hansard indicates MBQ and HIA were accused of seeking the Premier’s direct intervention
- The report and recommendations were never tabled in Parliament
- Hundreds of copies were reportedly shredded and the report and recommendations concealed in archive for the next 30 years.
ASIC records show approximately 10,000 building industry subcontractors have gone to the wall since, due to non-payment.
2004 - 2014 the LNP put subcontractors, suppliers and the community last
- In 2004 the LNP supported the Building Construction Industry Payments Act introduced to guarantee subcontractors a progress payment. Then when they formed government in 2014 they rendered that Act impotent.
- In 2014 LNP put 75,000 subcontractors last when they made changes to legislation which allowed builders to self report their financial situation.
- Every legislative and policy change disadvantaged 75,000 QLD subcontractors and was biased toward builders – the fall-out since has been financially devastating for subcontractors.
If this mob (LNP) get the reins of power in QLD at this November 25 election then the Project Bank Accounts to be introduced to protect subcontractors , suppliers and consumers will go down the gurgler and we will be back to what we have now, a whole lot of misery.
The LNP is still made up of the same old cronies who were there in 2014. Nicholls is still there and as useless and ineffectual as ever and Mander is still there as inadequate as he was in 2014.
We believe 8 subcontractors spoke with Mander after Walton collapsed in 2013. He was given plenty of information and facts for him to ponder on. Mander would have seen the impact of the Walton deception with his own 2 eyes but did the opposite of what he should have done when he watered down the legislation paving the way for the likes of Cullen Group, Bluestone and the rest of the shonky liquidations that followed.
Subbies know the LNP don't care about them so in 2017 subbies should put the LNP where they belong, last.
With an election imminent, the subbies of Queensland now need to make a decision on which political party will do the most to maintain the new security of payment legislation and put an end to the crimes against subcontractors, suppliers and the community.
The Building Industry Fairness Legislation
The Labor Government introduced the new Building Industry Fairness Legislation into Parliament last month which is giant leap in the right direction so we know they will give the legislation time to work but that is only a start.
The previous Newman Government (LNP), with the help of organisations like the MBQ and the HIA changed the "Independent Financial Reporting" for QBCC license holders to "Self Reporting” which allowed shonky builders and industry conmen to juggle their books to obtain even bigger license capacity than they could manage.
It was so easy to manipulate the accounts without scrutiny, they would neglect to include creditors and move large sums of money from one company to another to prop up their false figures. It was creative accounting at it's worst and this led to the open theft of hundreds of millions of dollars of subbies money.
That opened the door to the some of the biggest builder liquidations in the history of the Queensland building industry costing subbies and suppliers hundreds of millions of dollars. The
LNP couldn’t be trusted then to do the right thing, Nichols and Mander were part of that abysmal legislation change.
Based on that disgraceful decision and their history, can the LNP be trusted not to dismantle the new security of payment legislation?
The answer is NO.
Which party can answer all these questions in the affirmative:
1. Do you accept that trade contractors are a significant part of the economy and important to the financial health of the state?
2. Do you accept that family businesses are entitled to protection of the law from large predatory businesses that benefit from their exaggerated ability to contract unfairly?
3. Do you understand that the Master Builders Association is not the peak industry body in that it only speaks on behalf of builders and does not speak on behalf of trade contractors or the many trade contractor associations?
4. Do you support all of the reforms contained in the Building industry Fairness act passed by the current government?
5. Do you support the planned extension of those reforms to the rest of the industry after the one year pilot period?
6. Do you support a program of continuing reform that would include abolition of retention monies and requiring builders to obtain security of payment from developers?
It is hard to remain apolitical when those in power make moronic decisions that destroy thousands of lives.