CFMEU bats for bosses against Jewish club after alleged subcontractor bribes

The crisis-plagued CFMEU threatened to target a storied Jewish community organisation on behalf of a large building firm — which allegedly has deep ties to controversial union boss Darren Greenfield — as the union also warned any protest would probably attract pro-Palestinian activists.

The CFMEU’s intervention this month in the dispute between the not-for-profit Hakoah Club and major building company Parkview Constructions raises major questions about the ongoing connection between Greenfield — the CFMEU’s NSW secretary — and the construction firm.

The Hakoah Club development on the site of the old White City tennis complex,.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

Police allege, in an unrelated corruption case, that the union boss previously had backroom dealings with Parkview that secured it union backing on the condition it hired a Greenfield-favoured subcontractor. That subcontractor was, in turn, suspected of bribing Greenfield.

There is no suggestion police suspect that Parkview was aware of Greenfield’s alleged corruption, or that the corruption allegations against Greenfield will be proven, only that the firm was willing to accommodate the union boss’s demands in return for his backing. Greenfield is awaiting trial.

The federal government is battling to get legislation through parliament to force the CFMEU into administration in the face of resistance from the Opposition and the Greens.

Parkview’s stoush with the Hakoah Club involves a financial dispute over the uncompleted construction of a new $90 million sporting and community hub in Sydney.

The Hakoah Club is looking for a new builder to complete the job.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

The Hakoah Club is financing the development, which is about one-third completed, with donations from the Jewish community and state and federal infrastructure grants.

It said in a statement it had terminated Parkview as its builder but declined to comment on ongoing negotiations with the firm.

The club stressed it had told “the union and Parkview it would pay all entitlements properly owing to sub-contractors” for development on the site of the old White City tennis club.

Parkview did not respond to efforts to contact it.

The CFMEU’s intervention on behalf of Parkview is detailed in a leaked August 5 email from Greenfield to Sydney Grammar’s Edgecliff Preparatory School in Paddington, which neighbours the Hakoah Club.

Greenfield, in his email, advises the school he is considering directing “an ongoing [CFMEU] protest outside the [Hakoah Club] site” and would seek to minimise disruptions to the school.

Greenfield’s email, which he also sent to Parkview and Hakoah, said the protest was being considered not only on behalf of union members but “on behalf of Parkview” — a privately owned firm with significant annual revenue.

It is rare for the CFMEU to protest on behalf of a major construction firm, which are typically the target of union protest action.

Greenfield justified the potential protest because “the CFMEU has been in discussions with the developer [Hakoah Club] and the builder involved [Parkview]”.

“We [the CFMEU] were hoping there was a resolution to the issues between the parties but even though the parties were very close to reaching agreement, they have not,” he said.

Two industry sources said the email was an apparent effort to push the club to cave in to some of Parkview’s demands.

It also prompted a response from Sydney Grammar. The school’s principal emailed parents to warn them of “an increased level of security around Alma Street and the Hakoah site, whilst dropping off your son this morning”.

“It has been brought to our attention that there is potential for some union presence at the Hakoah site in the coming days,” the principal’s email said.

“We are in close contact with the local police, and we will continue to keep you updated if there are any disruptions.”

Separately, a security source said NSW authorities had been advised of informal warnings allegedly issued by the CFMEU that if the protest action eventuated, the union might encourage pro-Palestinian activists to join the rally outside the site of the Jewish club.

The source said that given the Hakoah Club had previously been targeted by extremist Palestinian supporters in 1982 when a device exploded in the car park, the warnings had alarmed Jewish community figures.

There is no suggestion that any pro-Palestinian groups are involved in the dispute or supporting Greenfield’s alleged actions.

Police at the site of the Hakoah Club in Bondi after the 1982 carpark bombing.Credit: Trevor James Robert Dallen

Greenfield’s backing of Parkview in the Hakoah Club dispute comes after separate revelations in this masthead’s Building Bad series about how the CFMEU’s NSW and Victorian branches were using their industrial muscle to favour certain companies while threatening others with black-bans and, in some cases, violence and intimidation.

A joint federal and state police investigation, Operation Brownsmith, that investigated Greenfield between 2018 and late 2021– and ultimately charged him over allegations he was bribed by a plastering company — now alleges Greenfield had cultivated a relationship with Parkview in which it agreed to place the plastering company onto its sites in return for Greenfield’s support.

The police say Greenfield claimed privately that he was close enough to Parkview to guarantee the allegedly bribe-paying plasterer a contract.

The police also claim Greenfield was able to issue directions to Parkview about which sub-contractors it must remove from sites in what appeared to be a secret attempt to black-ban firms not favoured by Greenfield, and to privilege favoured firms.

Construction industry sources said Greenfield had also intervened to assist Parkview in a dispute with a second developer which fell out with the building firm.

The Hakoah Club told members in May the project had halted and recently told the Australian Jewish News it was still searching for another builder to complete the project.

The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.