Australia is in the grip of an unprecedented property boom

A Royal Commission inquiry into Australia's A$35bn (�13bn; $21bn) construction sector has uncovered 392 illegal acts, and recommended criminal charges against 31 individuals.

According to the Commission, headed by retired judge Terence Cole, intimidation, kickbacks, illegal strikes and under-the-counter trade union deals have made the sector hugely corrupt.

The Australian property market has boomed in recent years, persuading ever more contractors to cut corners in the hope of a fast pay-off, the Commission alleged.

But unions and contractors have rejected the charges, arguing that the Cole Commission was biased against them from the outset.

'Dodgy as hell'

The Commission was launched a year ago by Australia's conservative government, which has frequently attacked the influence of trade unions in the sector.

We are a strong union, operating in a tough industry, and this is what the government wants to destroy John Sutton, CFMEU trade union

"One of the problems is that there is ferocious competition between businesses, and a kind of hunters-as-a-pack mentality when it comes to the quasi-monopoly suppliers of labour," he said.

"I'm in favour of competition. But in this particular industry the competition is all on one side of the commercial fence."

Mr Abbott said he would be recommending a tightening of law enforcement in the sector, and may set up some sort of agency to police construction companies.

Feeling victimised

The report has caused a furore within the industry.

The most bitter opponents to the Cole Commission have been labour activists, especially the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), which at one point seemed threatened with abolition by the investigation.

The CFMEU has a stranglehold over building labour, and critics say it has exploited its monopoly and ignored employment law.

The CFMEU dismissed the Cole charges as trivial, and attacked every aspect of the Commission's methods, pointing out that it has cost Australian taxpayers A$60m.

The CFMEU calculates that over 90% of the Commission's time was dedicated to investigating unions, and that allegations against companies were ignored.

"This has been a concerted attack on the reputation of the CFMEU," said John Sutton, the union's head of construction.