The Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) was
set up in 2005 by the Howard Government as a construction industry
watchdog. In 2012, the Rudd Government reduced the ABCC's
coercive powers and renamed it Fair Work Building and Construction
(FWBC). When the Coalition attempted to re-introduce the ABCC, it
was blocked by the Senate and a double dissolution election was
triggered.
As the catalyst for a double dissolution, it was expected that
workplace policy would be at the forefront of both major
parties' election campaigns however workplace relations did not
feature heavily. As the Coalition only claimed a small majority of
seats in the House of Representatives and the Senate in the
election, they may encounter some difficulties in passing workplace
legislation to meet their mandated pre-election policies detailed
below.
