James O’Doherty: CFMEU has been a cash cow for the ALP, now the milk has run dry

The NSW Labor Party would have received about $225,000 since CFMEU boss Darren Greenfield was charged with bribery offences, writes James O’Doherty. So what is the Premier planning to do with that money?

The decision was unanimous on Thursday when Labor’s national executive met, via phone hook-up, to sever ties with the CFMEU’s construction division in four states including NSW.

It probably helped that the union’s national secretary Zach Smith was not there; the national boss who had as recently as Tuesday was fighting to stay in control did not dial into the 10.45am meeting.

With the union now suspended from its affiliation with the ALP and set to be under external administration, governments — both state and federal — will attempt to deflect from the issues of alleged union corruption by claiming they have taken “decisive action” to stamp out wrongdoing.

Indeed, Premier Chris Minns on Thursday said his push to boot the CFMEU’s construction wing was a swift reaction to the fact that state boss Darren Greenfield was still in the job, years after he was charged with allegedly accepting a series of $5000 bribes.

Never mind the fact that those charges are now three years old, and date back to alleged offences from as early as 2018. Greenfield denies any wrongdoing and is still before the courts.

NSW’S ALP headquarters is reliant on CFMEU donations. Picture: AAP

As acting Opposition Leader Damien Tudehope said: “The criminal issues with the leadership of the NSW CFMEU did not begin yesterday.”

The rogue union will now be banned from Labor’s state conference in just over a week, a fact about which senior members of the party’s Left faction could hardly contain their delight. However, Labor’s divorce with the embattled union could be short-lived; it may not be long before they are back in bed together.

Liberal MP Damien Tudehope has been highly critical of the CFMEU. Picture: Nikki Short

Put simply, Labor needs the CFMEU’s cash.

In NSW alone, the union’s construction wing has funnelled about $100,000 per year to ALP coffers in affiliation fees.

Now that the union has been disaffiliated, that cash cow has disappeared.

Some insiders believe that Sussex Street will not be able to wait too long before again milking the CFMEU’s construction wing for its sizeable donations.

It was suggested that whichever external administrator that is appointed to clean up the union’s NSW branch may be able to fix things up by the next election.

Others think it could take as long as five years before the CFMEU’s construction wing is fit to come back into the fold.

However long it takes, the process needs to be thorough.

The question in NSW Labor’s immediate future is what it does with the money it has been gleefully accepting from a union whose boss is suspended from the party and on trial for allegedly taking cash bribes.

Since CFMEU NSW Secretary Darren Greenfield was charged with bribery offences in September 2021, his union would have sent about $225,000 in affiliation fees to Sussex Street.

“The Secretary was charged with bribery offences three years ago and every dollar donated to Labor since then is under a cloud,” Tudehope says.

What is Premier Chris Minns planning to do with the CFMEU donations? Picture: John Appleyard

Minns should now move to pay that money back — not to the CFMEU itself, but to charity.

Premier Chris Minns argues that it would be “plainly ridiculous” to write the CFMEU a massive cheque, and he is right.

But, after conceding that it would be “fair” to donate the money to charity, Minns has an opportunity to make a strong stance against alleged corruption.

On Wednesday he insisted “mum and dad” Labor donors should not be slugged for the alleged wrongdoing of a few union officials.

But there is a precedent here: Minns could raise the money through a levy of Labor MPs, some of whom owe their careers in large part to the CFMEU’s support.

That was exactly what happened under Luke Foley when Labor had to repay some $260,000 donated by convicted murderer Ron Medich.

Government sources insist that this will not be happening. They say the Liberals should in turn repay donations from the likes of John Sidoti and Daryl Maguire (who copped corruption findings from the Independent Commission Against Corruption) or Gareth Ward, who has pleaded not guilty to historical rape charges.

Minns says Labor does not have the “capacity” to find the money.

But he also has an obligation to ensure that any money it has received is completely above board.

Having won office with the support of the union movement, Minns cannot afford to be seen as soft on union thuggery.

Minns was right in his push to sever ties with the CFMEU’s construction wing, but he should put his money where his mouth is.

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