Listen: Nick McKenzie on why the ‘rot’ in the CFMEU hasn’t budged

Already there have been two royal commissions. Last year the CFMEU was placed into administration, and there have been promises by state and federal governments for new laws and police action to stop criminal activity on building sites.

But feared gangland figures such as Mick Gatto are still operating within the union with impunity.

So says the journalist behind the story, investigative reporter Nick McKenzie, who explains the latest chapter on corruption within the construction sector union to Samantha Selinger-Morris on The Morning Edition podcast.

To listen to the full episode, click the player below, watch the video or read on for an edited extract of the conversation.

Selinger-Morris: Nick, I want to ask you now about the accountability in all of this. You know, if, there’s evidence that does suggest that Mick Gatto has been operating within the CFMEU, why hasn’t he been charged with any crime?

McKenzie: What must be said, these allegations as they pertain to Mick Gatto are merely that: they’re allegations. He has no recent criminal convictions to speak of. He insists he’s a legitimate businessman, but he’s also Mick Gatto, one of the most feared gangland figures in Victoria.

He’s just one of many who can operate with impunity in the construction sector, who’ve been normalised, legitimised by the union, by building companies that pay people like him. It’s not just a problem for the union and these building companies. It’s a problem for the state government because it creates the system that has allowed this conduct to flourish.

Where’s the accountability? Well, there’s been none.

We’ve not heard in any detail from the Victorian government, the federal government, as to why the Victorian government permitted a system on its major projects which gave rise or facilitated this further conduct by the Gattos of the world. Did the people on both sides know that bikies were on their sites? Of course they did. They stand out like sore thumbs.

It’s really on the Victorian government, firstly and foremost, to explain why this has gone on, what truly has gone on, and who’s going to be held to account?

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