Government handed double dissolution trigger

The employment minister has criticised as bizarre the decision of some crossbench senators to vote against a bill cracking down on dodgy union bosses.

Employment Minister Eric Abetz told parliament establishing a registered organisation commission was an election commitment and was necessary to clean up misuse of union member funds. (AAP) Source: AAP

The position of crossbench senators who voted against legislation to crack down on dodgy union bosses is "bizarre and illogical", the federal government says.

Jacqui Lambie, Glenn Lazarus and Ricky Muir joined with Labor and the Greens on Monday night to block the establishment of a registered organisation commission for the second time, giving the coalition a double dissolution trigger.

"Why should a corrupt union official who has ripped off hundreds of thousands of dollars from a union only be liable for a fine of $10,800 when, for the same corrupt conduct, a company director would be liable for five years imprisonment or a fine of $360,000?" Employment Minister Eric Abetz said in a statement on Tuesday.

The union movement is celebrating the bill's defeat.

ACTU secretary Dave Oliver said Senator Abetz had wanted to put draconian penalties on unionists for minor breaches.

"(It) was designed to weaken the capacity of workers to organise on the job and fight for rights," he told ABC radio.

Independent senator Nick Xenophon, who supported the bill, didn't think it was radical at all.

"I think it was moderate, I think it was reasonable," he told reporters in Canberra.

It would have put union heads on par with company directors, he said, adding it was a mistake that it wasn't passed.