Brisbane protests: Construction workers and CFMEU members march across city as they demand action on...
Protesting construction workers and union members have brought parts of to a standstill as they demand action on the housing crisis. Members of the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy union (CFMEU) are staging three separate marches across Brisbane's CBD on Thursday. Workers started marching to the Brisbane Convention Centre in the morning where the Labor party is holding its national conference from Thursday to Sunday. They are demanding more action on the national housing crisis, in addition to calling for a tax on windfall profits and a ban on engineered stone. The process of making engineered stone generates silica dust, which can cause fatal lung disease if breathed in over time. A Curtin University report estimates 10,000 workers will develop lung cancers from the exposure. 'If they don't ban this import then politicians will have blood on their hands,' Queensland secretary Jade Ingham told the . 'We elected them and it's about time they represented us.' Police have warned motorists of delays in the CBD along Victoria Bridge and at Southbank when the conference is set to start. Speaking at the National Press Club in July, CFMEU national secretary Zach Smith said the tax would cause the 'least amount of suffering' as Australia grapples with its escalating housing crisis. 'Theoretically we could do this faster and hit the target quicker but there are constraints on construction capacity, land release and so on,' he said. '2041 is a feasible target and if we operate on that time frame and if we factor in how the cost of construction is expected to increase over the forecast period, we will need an investment of $511bn between now and 2041.' In separate protests across central Brisbane today, environmentalists are calling for more action to combat climate change, while Labor party members opposed to the AUKUS nuclear submarines will also hold a demonstration. Labor is holding its first national conference in Brisbane since the 1970s and around 2,000 party members are expected to attend, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. It is the Labor party's highest decision-making forum, with policy decisions passed by nearly 400 voting delegates set to be binding at a federal level.