Labor leader apologises for policy, says union ‘took advantage’

Queensland Opposition Leader Steven Miles has apologised for an industrial relations framework introduced under his former Labor government, which an inquiry into the CFMEU found increased costs on major projects by hundreds of millions of dollars.

The Best Practice Industry Conditions policy, widely known as BPIC, was introduced in 2018 under premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, and expanded to apply to all major government projects valued at over $100 million.

Late on Wednesday, the Commission of Inquiry into the CFMEU released an interim report recommending the Crisafulli government introduce a new state building code and establish a new regulator to monitor and enforce compliance.

It “conservatively” estimated BPIC has caused costs to increase by 20 per cent on average, directly or indirectly pushing up the bill for three projects – Cross River Rail, the Centenary Bridge upgrade and Gold Coast light rail – by hundreds of millions of dollars.

Labor leader and former premier Steven Miles told reporters on Thursday morning the policy was well-intentioned, but had been taken advantage of by bad actors including the CFMEU.

“I accept that I could have and should have acted sooner … for not acting sooner, I apologise,” he said.

“It’s clear from both the administration that we put in place and the findings of the commission of inquiry that the door was left too far open, and the CFMEU and some contractors misused that policy.

“That’s why … BPIC will never again be a policy of the Queensland Labor Party that I lead, or a government that I lead.”

The LNP scrapped BPIC in one of its first moves after being elected to government.

Miles added Labor would consider the report’s recommendations for a new state building code and regulator.

“[It] could have far widening, far ranging impacts on the work of hardworking Queenslanders, and so we want to consider that very carefully,” he said.

“What all Queenslanders should know is that Queensland Labor is on the side of working Queenslanders.”

On the LNP government’s new industrial relations bill before parliament, Miles identified proposed ministerial powers to terminate industrial action under some circumstances and the tightening of eligibility to make psychological injury claims as specific areas of concern for Labor.

“This is a wide-ranging bill that takes away a lot of rights of workers,” he said.

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