Fighting for Subbies Rights
SubbiesUnited and Subcontractors Alliance Support the Qld Labor Government's new Legislation designed to Stop Racketeering & Fraud in the Building & Construction Industry.
Every Queensland Subcontractor & Supplier should support this too, no matter what your political persuasion.
Following is a statement from Les Williams who formed Subcontractors Alliance after the disgraceful collapse of Walton Construction followed by the collapse of the QBCC Licensed Illegal Phoenix operation called Peloton Builders.
Les has been working on this legislation ever since so today is his day.
FROM SUBCONTRACTORS ALLIANCE
The Subcontractors Alliance is an apolitical organisation but the comments tweeted by LNP's John Paul Langbroek are straight out of the hypocrite handbook after grandstanding with Subbies yesterday who have lost a fortune in the wake of the Ware Building Pty Ltd liquidation last week on the Commonwealth Games Athletes Village.
• We wonder if Langbroek explained to the subcontractors meeting yesterday that it was the Newman LNP government whose amendments to BCIPA gave it to subcontractors in the back in 2014 and those results are what we are witnessing now.
• We wonder if he explained to the subcontractors that the changes to the financial reporting regime to maintain a building license has facilitated pre- packaged liquidation rife in the industry.
• Those amendments were made by his government in 2014. The change allowed a financial self reporting mechanism that opened the door to abuse and we are seeing the result.
• Did Langbroek admit to the subcontractors that his party do not support the changes to protect subcontractors now being introduced?
• We call on the LNP to explain how those 2014 changes were made and who influenced those decisions that have cost over 4000 QLD small businesses in excess of 200 million dollars.
• Did Langbroek tell the gathered subcontractors that the current government is putting legislation before the Parliament today to protect subcontractors in an effort to undo the financial destruction being inflicted on small business caused by his governments policy changes?
• The former Newman government were warned by the Subcontractors Alliance that their amendments would cause the destruction we have witnessed ever since.
• Sadly the collapse of Ware Builders is the latest of 30 major insolvencies since those amendments but the numbers are much higher with the last 12 months the worst in dollar value lost to family businesses.
• Langbroek's tweets are offensive - he needs to be honest with those subcontractors.
End statement
The LNP better have some very good reasons not to stop the financial slaughter of subbies and to not want to protect small mum and dad businesses.
Here is a sample of my reply to his tweet.
New Legislation Introduced to Parliament Today
The Palaszczuk Government will today (22 August) introduce legislation to the Queensland Parliament ushering in a new age of fairness in the building and construction industry.
Minister for Housing and Public Works Mick de Brenni MP said the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Bill 2017 will establish a regime to help ensure small and medium construction businesses are paid in full, on time and every time.
“For too long the building and construction industry has operated by pushing the majority of the risk for projects onto subcontractors—often family run businesses,” Mr de Brenni said.
“That changes with these new laws. We are putting the construction industry on the level.”
Mr de Brenni said that the Government’s comprehensive suite of reforms would simplify the payment system, take action against illegal phoenixing and introduce project bank accounts to help ensure money owed to subbies was available to them.
It would also reverse changes under the previous LNP Government that removed mandatory financial reporting for building companies.
“The LNP’s absurd changes to financial self-reporting opened the door to abhorrent practices in the industry. Their changes to the payment system kicked that door off its hinges entirely.
“We are expanding the financial investigation powers of the QBCC, allowing the regulator to intervene more strongly to protect subbies.
“This reverses disastrous changes introduced by the LNP that effectively tied the QBCC’s hands behind its back.
“Our new laws will bring back financial standards to the industry. It will give the building regulator the QBCC a line of sight to companies that may be in trouble.”
Action on phoenixing
The new laws also clampdown on ‘shadow directors’ and corporate ‘phoenixing’ in the building and construction industry, allowing the Government to impose a ban on anyone who has been secretly involved in running a construction company that goes bankrupt or has its building licence revoked.
Anyone who receives a ban under the new laws will face major penalties if they try to run another building company, either in their own name or by once again giving secret directions from behind the scenes.
“We have seen recent cases across the state where companies appear to have been designed to fail,” Mr de Brenni said.
“You shouldn’t be running a dud business under your nanna’s name, or anyone else’s. You shouldn’t get away with running under the radar.
“Lumping others with your debts, deliberately sinking your old company and secretly slinking away to a new business is disgraceful, base behaviour. It’s a low act.”
Project Bank Accounts
Mr de Brenni said that the Palaszczuk Government’s new ‘project bank accounts’ would provide the strongest protections for subbies anywhere in the nation.
“Our landmark security of payment reforms will see Project Bank Accounts introduced on Government projects between $1 million and $10 million from January 1 2018,” Mr de Brenni said.
“Project Bank Accounts are not designed to stop building industry insolvencies on their own.
“But they will stop a dodgy builder from using funds from one project on another project. They will prevent dodgy operators from syphoning subbies funds for personal use.
“From January 1 2019 Project Bank Accounts will be expanded to all private sector construction projects over $1 million.
“We have listened to industry and under our new laws we will also have the ability to expand PBA’s down beyond the first tier of subcontractors—to protect subcontractors and suppliers further down the line.”
Mr de Brenni said the Palaszczuk Government’s comprehensive suite of subcontractor protections is the result of almost two years of extensive consultation.
“These reforms are considered and comprehensive,” he said.
“For decades subcontractors have been crying out for real action to fix these abhorrent practices.
“Only Labor has had the political will to get the construction industry on the level. It’s time for Tim Nicholls and the LNP to show some courage and be on the right side of history when it comes to supporting construction small businesses.”