Editor’s view: Chances are CFMEU crackdown won’t be nearly enough

Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt insists the government is tackling the job of cleaning up the CFMEU “without fear or favour”.

Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt wants us to believe the Albanese government is doing all it can to crack down on the militant CFMEU.

But is it? Chances are what is being proposed won’t be nearly enough. Senator Watt insists the government is tackling the job of cleaning up the CFMEU “without fear or favour”.

As evidence, he points to the introduction into parliament this week of legislation that would force the east coast divisions of the union’s construction arm into receivership for up to three years.

This follows the union’s refusal to consent to the voluntary appointment of an administrator as the first step in addressing allegations of entrenched criminal behaviour within the CFMEU.

On paper, that’s a good move. But it’s barely a start, even assuming the proposed legislation actually becomes law. At the moment, the Greens are refusing to support it and the Coalition, which wants to see a complete deregistration of the CFMEU, say it’s too weak.

Federal Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Murray Watt speaking to the media in Brisbane. Picture: David Clark

But still, placing an independent administrator in charge to manage and operate the union’s affairs while the rot gets hacked out makes sense. Leaving things in the hands of the current union management simply isn’t an option. Fresh and independent eyes are definitely needed.

But changing the management of the union doesn’t, in itself, address the underlying issues surrounding the CFMEU – one of Australia’s most important unions, with significant power to disrupt industrial activity and drive up costs.

The government needs to take a far more active approach to not only identifying alleged criminal behaviour in the construction sector, but also rooting it out

and taking strong legal action against miscreants.

Senator Watt has ruled out a royal commission, on the basis that the construction sector has already been “inquired to death”.

As Senator Watt says, now is the time for action not more inquiries. And on that, we couldn’t agree more, which is why we have difficulty accepting Senator Watt’s refusal to reinstate some version of the Australian Building Construction Commission (ABCC), which the then-Coalition government established in 2016 to tackle alleged union intimidation and lawlessness in the building industry.

The Albanese government killed off the ABCC last year, as a pre-election promise, claiming the organisation had been set up to “discredit and dismantle unions and undermine the pay, conditions and job security of workers”.

CFMEU near the Cross River Rail, Roma St work site. Photo: Steve Pohlner

And anyway, according to Senator Watt, the current allegations against the CFMEU of bikie-infestation and organised criminal activity “occurred when the ABCC was in power”.

But that is a pretty poor argument for refusing to consider a new industry oversight body.

Senator Watt’s argument is that the last one, established by the Coalition allegedly to undermine workers’ conditions, failed due to police union behaviour, so there’s no point in trying again.

That’s nonsense. There’s nothing at all to stop the Albanese government from establishing its own independent construction industry oversight body to keep an eye on the behaviour of bother unions and major contractors.

Nothing that is, except fear of upsetting the broader union movement.