Fighting for Subbies Rights
There is a 3 day News Limited Queensland campaign called "Back Our Subbies" starting today in support of subcontractors, suppliers and the Queensland building industry in general.
Unprecedented Public Campaign
This is an unprecedented level of publicity and can only help subbies cause to get a level playing field in an industry that can be like walking through a minefield.
The Main Aim
This is a massive media campaign to put pressure on the Queensland Government to do more to clean out the industry but the main focus is to force the Queensland Government to establish a properly resourced and skilled Police Task Force to investigate all aspects of criminality in relation to construction sector insolvency and fraud.
If anyone or any organisation is prepared to support Subbies to this extent, we must return that support. Its a two way street.
To access all the articles you need to subscribe and the cost is minimal at around $3 per week.
The "Back Our Subbies" campaign is legendary Sunshine Coast Daily Journalist Bill Hoffman's work. He has been working his guts out on this for months after being at the coal face and seeing first hand the rampant abuse of subbies over many years.
Do you want to be paid for your work?
Do you want a safe working environment?
Bill has been a great supporter of subbies for a long time. If we don't support the people who help us, News Limited might not allow their journalists to write these exposes to support us so please subscribe to your local News Limited paper to gain access to the articles and to ensure ongoing support and exposure.
We have also had major support from award winning Gold Coast Bulletin journalist and Business Editor Kathleen Skene and Glen Norris from the Courier Mail.
The cost of subscription is minimal but the benefits to us are enormous so subscribe to your local News Limited paper and join the fight. You might also consider subscribing to SubbiesUnited and join Subcontractors Alliance if you want a safe industry to work in.
How bad can it be?
This is how bad it can get, one Cullen subbie I know lost 500k in the Cullen liquidation then he was sued for 600k, then 2.4 million and now down to a laughable 1.5 million in so called preferential payments.
His crime?
Sending his employees to work, pouring his resources into the job and when he wasn't paid by Cullen Group, he attempted to collect his late unpaid claims. It's wrong, its unfair, its un Australian, its an archaic law and it stinks! He is one of 35 claims totalling millions against subbies in that liquidation.
With News Limited's help we can clean up the building industry and make it a safer place for us all to participate in. We have all been hammered by liquidations at some time or another. I had a charmed run for 30 years but in the last 2 years that changed.
I know how it feels so I fought back hard through SubbiesUnited.
Les Williams fought back even harder through Subcontractors Alliance, all with the best intentions to clean up the industry and put a stop to rogue builders ripping off subbies. Les and his group has maintained the rage for 6 years and won't stop.
Its Time to Deliver the knockout punch
Below is an excerpt from Bill's first feature article.
50 builder collapses, subbies owed $500m
THE Queensland Government has been warned more major developers could collapse this year, leaving thousands more subcontractors out of pocket, if urgent action isn't taken to clean up the state's construction industry.
More than 50 building companies have collapsed in Queensland since 2013 leaving more than 7000 subbies unpaid.
No criminal charges have been laid against any of the major companies in that time despite industry figures estimating $500m has been left owing to subcontractors.
There is also evidence supporting allegations of some builders submitting false statutory declarations they have paid their subcontractors.
News Queensland will reveal the extent of the damage in a new 'Back our Subbies' series, which will call for the establishment of a police taskforce to clean up shoddy practices in the industry and protect workers and their families.
In our series, which will run across the state's 14 biggest daily newspapers, we will reveal:
• Why Queensland needs a properly resourced taskforce to enforce laws that already exist
• The impact on thousands of hardworking subcontractors and their families
• How developers are gaming the system with the support of banks to protect both their self-interests
• The extent to which senior government figures were warned of major collapses and failed to act
WHY MORE BUILDERS WILL GO BROKE
Already this year a string of Queensland builders have hit trouble, including Queensland Custom Homes and G.J. Gardner Homes at North Ipswich.
Read the whole article here and many more in todays News Limited Queensland papers.
And this Gold Coast Bulletin article
And this Courier Mail article.
Corporate fraud: Subbies lured into $80m bogus deals
And this Sunshine Coast Daily article
Subbies lured into $80m bogus deals
Many more EXPLOSIVE articles in todays and the coming days in News Limited Queensland papers
There are many more explosive articles in todays New Limited Queensland papers so please support those who support subbies.
It gets tiring posting these article links on facebook and SubbiesUnited and then listening to people complain that the stories are behind a paywall.
You like to get paid for your work, so do journalists.
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