CFMEU Forestry and Furnishing Division National Secretary Michael O’Connor has flagged that the union will continue its campaign to keep the Green Building Council accountable to the Australian community.
“We intend to campaign for increased job security for our members and this will of necessity involve ongoing scrutiny of the Green Building Council and their unrepresentative practices.
“Their treatment of forest products to date does not inspire confidence, it has not resulted in good environmental outcomes and their lack of rigour has resulted in a shameful recent history that remains a public policy disgrace.”
Mr O’Connor said that the Green Building Council simply did not deserve its current monopoly status in terms of government procurement.
“This organisation is in our view a thinly disguised exercise in “green washing,” involving some of Australia’s largest corporations and I believe governments and regulatory agencies need to be investigating how this organisation came to hold such influence in industry, given its direct involvement in threatening Australian jobs and encouraging timber importation from nations that have such a woeful record in sustainable timber industry practices.”
“For this mob to have created a scenario where domestic timber harvested according to sustainable worlds best practice has been at such a disadvantage is unforgivable and deserves further scrutiny.”
