![Prime Minister Tony Abbott.](http://web.archive.org./web/20140130154127im_/http://images.smh.com.au/2013/12/14/5010249/art-353-Tony-Abbott-300x0.jpg)
Prime Minister Tony Abbott. Photo: James Brickwood
- Australian politics: full coverage
- Another top union official forced out
- Full coverage of the corruption scandal
The federal government and the business lobby have stepped up pressure on Labor and the Greens to pass laws to restore the Australian Building and Construction Commission, and confirmed that a royal commission into union slush funds and malfeasance was a live option.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott sharpened his political attack on Bill Shorten and Labor on Wednesday, questioning whether the opposition was on the side of law-abiding citizens or "on the side of people with a tendency to break the law".
"Are they [Labor] on the side of getting to the bottom of this or do they want to support a culture of cover-up? And this is a very serious question for the Leader of the Opposition and obviously he'll have the chance to answer it to pretty soon," he said.
Mr Abbott said the government would make an announcement about the scope of a promised judicial inquiry into union slush funds, while manager of government business Christopher Pyne confirmed a hardening of the Coalition's views as he confirmed a royal commission with sweeping powers was a "live option".
Employment Minister Eric Abetz said the government would attempt to pass its laws to restore the ABCC through the Senate on February 11, the first day of Parliament. Treasurer Joe Hockey said there is "mounting evidence that there are systemic problems in the union movement that need to be fully exposed and addressed".
And as officials from the Victorian and national branches of the construction union met in Melbourne to discuss the allegations of corruption and bribes, former ACTU leaders Bill Kelty, Simon Crean and Martin Ferguson weighed into the escalating stoush and lashed the minority of union officials who appeared to have broken the law.
The Coalition promised to restore the Howard-era construction watchdog as a "tough cop on the beat" before the election and the laws passed through the lower house, but Labor and the Greens have so far resisted pressure to pass the legislation in the Senate.
Mr Kelty told Fairfax Media there were "some problems" in the union movement, in his experience, but the "overwhelming behaviour of trade union leadership in my judgment was honest and ethical".
Mr Ferguson, who was also a long-serving former Labor MP, said there was "no place in any aspect of society for corruption".
"If there is evidence of wrongful practice, then the appropriate authorities should not just pursue the small number of union officials at fault but also shine their same light on employer representatives."
Mr Crean, who served with Mr Ferguson in the former Labor government, said wrongdoing should be rooted out and wrongdoers punished. All three questioned the need for a restored ABCC, however, and for a royal commission.
Mr Shorten is travelling overseas, but a spokesman for the Opposition Leader said he was "on the side of letting the police investigate these very serious allegations".
"It's their job to investigate alleged criminal activity, and they're the best people to do it. If Tony Abbott and Eric Abetz took this issue seriously, they'd let the police get on with their job rather than play their pathetic politics.”
ACTU president Ged Kearney said it was “absolutely absurd” for Mr Abbott to suggest a wide-ranging royal commission into union corruption when allegations could be dealt with by police.
“$100 million will be spent on what is nothing but a political witch-hunt,” Ms Kearney said.
With Jonathan Swan