CFMEU Queensland boss lives it up on official credit card

A QUEENSLAND mining union boss racked up thousands of dollars on his corporate credit card on charges including fancy restaurants in Las Vegas and Whitsundays cruises

CFMEU state president Stephen Smyth.

• Questions raised over union spending

A QUEENSLAND mining union boss racked up thousands of dollars on his corporate credit card on charges including fancy restaurants in Las Vegas and Whitsundays cruises.

Stephen Smyth, president of the CFMEU Queensland branch, even paid dentist, plumbing and butcher shop bills with his union MasterCard.

During a stay at a Las Vegas casino hotel in July and August 2015, Mr Smyth paid $632.60 while dining at Maggiano’s ­Little Italy where customers fork out $63 for a prime New York steak.

While in the same town, Mr Smyth spent $466.80 at the Mirage Hotel’s Portofino restaurant where “world-class executive chef Michael LaPlaca gives an unforgettable modern twist to classic Italian foods”.

The card details obtained by The Sunday Mail provide a window into the lavish life­styles of union fat cats.

Last year Mr Smyth used his card to pay Cruise Whitsundays at Airlie Beach $1181.70. On May 6 last year his card was used to pay Spring Hill Dental $729.

Last week The Courier-Mail revealed an independent auditor has raised questions over the use of credit cards by executives in the branch.

Mr Smyth used his card to pay Cruise Whitsundays at Airlie Beach $1181.70.

Jason Croston of SRJ Walker Wayland said credit card expenses for the 2016 financial year totalled $721,116.

In a damning report he said there was insufficient evidence to verify that the credit card expenses were incurred solely for business purposes.

Mr Croston’s report was signed off in December by Mr Smyth and secretary Timothy David Whyte but hasn’t been lodged with Fair Work Australia. Mr Smyth and Mr Whyte declined repeated requests for interviews.

Mr Smyth is touring the US and Canada, and in a voicemail message said he would not return to work until February 1.

It is not known if he has repaid any personal spending.

While many of the charges will be union-related expenses, it’s likely Mr Smyth will have some explaining to do to the new board of management meeting in March.

There was a $764 spend at Charles Porter hardware in Mackay in July 2015 and $935 the following month at Trade Link Plumbing Centre.

In January last year he spent $25.95 at Bunnings in Mackay. On August 4, 2015 his credit card was used to buy petrol in Mackay on the same day $125.60 was paid to a hotel in Las Vegas.

Mr Smyth’s card was used at Fresco’s Quality Meats in his home town of Mackay in July 2015 ($24) and August ($41.25).

"The Strip" in Las Vegas, Nevada.

He dined three times at Angelo’s on the Marina in 2015 and 2016 in Mackay, racking up bills of $232.60, $93.60 and $183.50.

He also dined out regularly in Brisbane. The statement shows spending at the Enjoy Inn, Fortitude Valley, of $637.40 on September 1, 2015, another $142.60 a month later and $72.80 in January 2016.

In April last year, $170.10 was spent at Sorbello’s Restaurant, Mackay, and $320 at Il Centro Restaurant in Brisbane in January 2016.

They weren’t all upscale dining spots. The statement is littered with charges from McDonald’s, Red Rooster, Donut Land and Cactus Jack’s.

The Palaszczuk Government used its final parliamentary sitting week in December last year to reverse a Newman government edict that union bosses must publish credit-card statements.