Hostilities between the Australian Building and Construction Commission and the unions are set to reignite, with a unionist due to face court on charges of assaulting and threatening to kill two construction commission inspectors. Police are expected to allege that Brian George Shearer assaulted and threatened two ABCC inspectors. Mr Shearer is expected to plead not guilty to the charges, which, if proven, could land him in jail for up to 10 years.

The militant Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union - which has again come under a cloud amid claims that the building industry has returned to the bad old days of thuggery and standover tactics - will face an investigation in Western Australia over alleged irregularities on its 8000-strong membership roll.

While the construction union last night said the Australian Building and Construction Commission had a record of attempting to smear building workers with false allegations, Industrial Relations Minister Julia Gillard said the abuse of ABCC inspectors was “grossly unacceptable” and that the industry’s “tough cop” would be retained.

This week was a time for new beginnings. In the US, Barack Obama accepted the Democratic Party nomination, while Republican John McCain the little-known Sarah Palin as his running mate. In Australia, the Liberal leadership speculation entered an even more confusing stage, while the Labor Party outlined a number of new policies.