Court documents reveal allegations against the Queensland CFMEU, lists bosses to face the axe

Court documents have revealed which Queensland CFMEU members will have their jobs vacated if the union is placed into administration.

Taylah Fellows

6 min read

August 8, 2024 - 7:21PM

QLD News

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‘Destroy this mob’: Union war explodes

Union boss Michael Ravbar has declared no corruption or criminality exists in the Queensland CFMEU branch, as the Fair Work Commission releases the list of hundreds of executive members its looking to axe if the union is placed into administration.

Fair Work Commission general manager Murray Furlong last week filed a case in the Federal Court seeking to appoint barrister Mark Irving KC as administrator of the CFMEU national construction and general division, and Queensland, Victorian and New South Wales and South Australian branches, which incorporate the Northern Territory and Tasmanian branches.

Court documents show a total 269 respondents from the CFMEU which will have their offices vacated if the application is successful.

Of those respondents, 18 are from the Queensland branch, including Mr Ravbar, Queensland state secretary, and nine of his executives.

Assistant secretaries Kane Lowth and Keith Murphy face the chopping block, as well as Mr Ravbar’s right-hand man Jade Ingham.

The decision to appoint administrators to the CFMEU followed serious allegations of corruption, bribery, intimidation, threats and appointing officeholders and delegates with criminal connections to projects, reported by 60 Minutes and Nine Newspapers in July.

A case management hearing was held between Fair Work Commission and CFMEU lawyers on Tuesday however Justice Michael Wheelahan was forced to recuse himself due to having previously acted in several cases against the CFMEU.

“It’s going to take a little time before the matter is reallocated,” he said.

Jade Ingham (front) at a CFMEU protest

But new federal Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt gave the CFMEU just nine days to consent to the conditions set out by the Fair Work Commission in its application on Friday, or he would table legislation to parliament at its next sitting, effectively forcing the union into administration under the Fair Work terms.

Those terms include the seizure of all finances and assets, and the administrator given the power to control a majority vote in each branch.

It would also prohibit the CFMEU from reassigning roles or empowering those not listed under the administration list and impose serious fines or jail time for any members or executives who attempt to obstruct the administration in any way.

Senator Watt said the CFMEU could face up to $4.6m in fines, and individuals $1m if found destroying documents or assets, warning officials to “co-operate with this administration or face the consequences”.

It is not yet known whether the national CFMEU or the Queensland branch will consent to the administration.

Queensland state secretary Michael Ravbar called the administration a “political vendetta” based on “outrageous allegations” and a forensic audit had already been done on the union through two royal commissions.

“And what did they find in two years in regards to criminality and corruption... zero,” he said.

“It’s sad we’re down this path because of one TV show that raised these things and nothing in regards for logic.”

CFMEU national secretary Zach Smith addressed union members via Facebook video to tell them the union would be meeting with the Fair Work Commission over the next two days.

“This is a significant proposal with broad implications,” he said of the administration application.

“We have sought further advice from the commission to inform our response.”

Court documents show allegations involving the Queensland CFMEU branch are centred around its alleged connection to any of the 2600 cases of federal workplace law contraventions, including 1100 committed by individual members over 213 court proceedings dating back to 2003.

The contraventions have resulted the CFMEU being fined at least $24 million, while individual office holders or delegates were fined a collective $4m.

The proposed administration is expected to take at least two years, and will task Brisbane advisory firm KordaMentha Pty Ltd with providing Mr Furlong independent financial reports for each branch.

Industrial Relations Minister Grace Grace said the state government was still working in “consultation” with the federal government to ensure administration powers applied equally to state and federally registered CFMEU members.

“We will not hesitate to introduce legislation to remove any state legislative barriers,” she said.

Ms Grace did not respond to questions on whether the government would consider launching its own court action to push the state branch into administration through the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission, as has been done in New South Wales.

The Queensland CFMEU branch declined to comment.

CFMEU QLD BRANCH EXECUTIVE DEFENDANTS

CFMEU boss Michael Ravbar

Michael Ravbar

Divisional Branch Delegate to Divisional Conference (QNT position 1 – ex officio QNT Divisional Branch Secretary)

One of Queensland’s most powerful union bosses, Michael Ravbar has been state secretary of the CFMEU since 2008 and is also its national vice-president.

Over the years under his leadership, he and the union have been hit with hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for unlawful activity, including $225,000 last year for repeatedly stopping work on the Cross River Rail project to host barbecues about its industry superannuation fund.

Mr Ravbar was personally fined almost $10,000.

In 2022, he and the union were fined a total of more than $130,000 for breaching right of entry rules on the Queensland Performing Arts Centre upgrade at South Bank.

Federal Circuit Court judge Gregory Egan blasted the CFMEU as a “rogue union” with “an appalling and disgraceful record” of breaching industrial laws.

Kane Lowth

Divisional Branch Delegate to Divisional Conference (QNT position 2 – ex officio QNT Divisional Branch Assistant Secretary – Plasterers)

Before becoming one of Mr Ravbar’s lieutenants, Mr Lowth was a Townsville-based co-ordinator for the CFMEU.

He led union attacks on contractors building North Queensland Stadium, where striking workers were ordered back on-site by the Fair Work Commission in 2019.

Mr Lowth said he was “angry” at Public Works Minister and union ally Mick de Brenni for failing to deliver on his promise of better pay for stadium workers.

“He told the people here in Townsville that they would be paid proper rates, and he

just hasn’t delivered,” Mr Lowth said.

Keith Murphy

Divisional Branch Delegate to Divisional Conference (QNT position 3 – ex officio QNT Divisional Branch Assistant Secretary – Painters)

Mr Murphy is assistant secretary of the Queensland branch and is also an executive for the CFMEU construction and general division national office.

Top CFMEU officials Jade Ingham, Royce Kupsch and Michael Ravbar (Facebook image)

Royce Kupsch

Divisional Branch Delegate to Divisional Conference (QNT position 4)

Mr Kupsch is currently joint vice president and health and safety co-ordinator of the CFMEU’s Queensland and Northern Territory branch.

Last year, he was among seven current and former CFMEU officials and the union itself fined a total of $179,000 for breaking right-of-entry laws on the Bruce Highway upgrade on the Sunshine Coast.

The Federal Court heard that one of the officials, Kurt Pauls, had an “extensive history” of breaking workplace laws, including 19 contraventions of the Fair Work Act.

Mr Kupsch told the court that union bosses believed their actions were “not unlawful”.

In 2022, it was revealed that Mr Kupsch was earning almost $243,000 a year despite the union’s membership plummeting to record lows.

Steve Gaske

Steven Gaske

Divisional Branch Delegate to Divisional Conference (QNT position 5)

Carpenter Steven Gaske is Senior Vice President of the Queensland branch and executive member of the national construction and general division.

Ian McKewin

Divisional Branch Delegate to Divisional Conference (QNT position 6)

Carpenter Ian McKewin is Vice President of the Queensland branch and executive member of the national construction and general division.

Jade Ingham

Divisional Branch Delegate to Divisional Conference (QNT position 7)

Mr Ravbar’s right-hand man, Jade Ingham is notorious for abusive language and has been branded a “bully” by the state opposition.

He is also president of the CFMEU construction and general division.

He was among 19 CFMEU officials who shut down two major Brisbane worksites in 2013 which led to almost $820,000 in fines. A Federal Court judge described the union’s conduct as “deliberate, flagrant and systematic” and said “coercion and intimidation contrary to law will not be tolerated”.

After Mr Ingham was controversially appointed to the Queensland Building and Construction Commission board in 2018, the opposition said it was proof the government “is owned wholly by the union, run by the union, for the union movement”.

Earlier this year, Mr Ingham defended strike action on the Cross River Rail project amid union demands that entry-level construction workers be paid $240,000 a year.

Mr Ingham said workers were “slaving” under a substandard agreement after the state government did a “dirty deal” with the Australian Workers Union.