Appointing an administrator to the embattled CFMEU won't be enough to address allegations of criminal ties within the union, a former head of a construction sector watchdog says.
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As coalition oppositions in two states push for tougher action against the union, ex-head of the Australian Building and Construction Commission Nigel Hadkiss said the federal government needs to do more.
The Fair Work Commission is taking action to place the CFMEU's construction division into administration, after allegations the union was infiltrated by bikies and criminals and officials had taken kickbacks.
"I have no confidence anything realistic (or) meaningful will be accomplished by an administrator," Mr Hadkiss, who led the watchdog between 2016 and 2017, told Sky News on Tuesday.
"We need a strong body, with sufficient powers to tackle a serious problem, that's not just affecting the building industry as a result, it's affecting the whole of the economy."
Federal Labor and some state branches have moved to cut affiliations with the CFMEU.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said calls to deregister the union or re-establish the construction watchdog would make the situation worse.
Opposition foreign spokesman Simon Birmingham said implementing the return of the commission would lead to better oversight of the industry.
"All Anthony Albanese wants to do is appoint an administrator rather than take the tough action of putting a proper cop back on the beat and of de-registering this militant union once and for all," he said.
It comes as the Victorian opposition unveiled plans to introduce laws to state parliament to keep bikies and organised criminals out of major construction projects in the state.
The laws would also bar anyone with people with criminal convictions for organised crime or consorting from being employed in the infrastructure projects.
The state's opposition leader John Pesutto claimed the allegations involving the Victorian branch of the union had led to costs blowing out on large builds.
"Bikies and organised criminals have no place on taxpayer funded construction sites and our new laws will keep them out for good," he said.
"For a decade, Labor has turned a blind-eye to worsening misconduct and organised criminal infiltration of major projects for which every Victorian is paying the price."
Meanwhile, the NSW Liberal opposition has written to the state's corruption watchdog asking it to investigate the state branch of the CFMEU.
The coalition wants the Independent Commission Against Corruption to investigate the union's activities in the state.
Federal Housing Minister Julie Collins said the steps taken against the union by the Labor government would address concerns it was leading to infrastructure projects going over budget.
"When it comes to the CFMEU, there's zero tolerance," she told reporters in Newcastle on Tuesday.
"We're getting on with the job of building homes, we want to see value for money for the Australian taxpayer, but we need homes of every type, right across the country."
The most recent incarnation of the Australian Building and Construction Commission was set up by the former federal coalition government in 2016.
It was abolished by the new Labor government in 2023.
Australian Associated Press
