AEC launches lawsuit against CFMEU over Labor attack

The CFMEU is accused of being behind posters that slammed Labor’s Ged Kearney over her mining share portfolio.

The Australian Electoral Commission has launched legal action accusing the CFMEU of being responsible for mysterious posters attacking Labor’s Ged Kearney during the federal election last year.

Posters accusing Kearney, a former nursing union official and president of the ACTU, of putting her “personal mining share portfolio” ahead of the needs of her aged care portfolio appeared in her electorate of Cooper during the campaign.

Suspicion initially fell on Kearney’s main electoral opponents, the Greens, for putting up the posters, which appeared to lack an authorisation line setting out who took responsibility for their content.

But the Greens denied having anything to do with the posters and, along with Kearney’s office, referred the posters to the AEC for investigation.

In a lawsuit lodged against the CFMEU in the Federal Court last Friday, the AEC claims the militant construction union was responsible for the posters.

Posters (right) attacking Ged Kearney, the ALP member for Cooper, over her share portfolio, next to a Greens campaign poster (left).

If the allegation, which has not been tested by the court, is correct it would mean a union affiliated with Labor was also behind a campaign against one of the party’s star candidates.

Documents detailing the AEC’s claims were not available on Wednesday due to draconian new access rules introduced by the Federal Court in January.

However, it is understood the AEC accuses the CFMEU of unlawful advertising on the basis that the posters did not state who authorised their content, as required by the Electoral Act.

A CFMEU spokesperson said: “As this is a matter before the court, we won’t be making a comment.”

A spokesperson for Kearney, who is the assistant minister for health and aged care, declined to comment.

Kearney’s declaration of interests shows that when she was re-elected she owned shares in Australian companies including miners Lynas Corporation, Regis Resources, Saracen Mineral Holdings and Mineral Resources but, since February this year, she “no longer holds any shares”.

In July 2020 she defected from Labor’s Industrial Left faction, which was home to the controversial head of the CFMEU’s Victorian construction division, John Setka, until he resigned from the party in October 2019.

She moved to the Socialist Left faction, which in Victoria enjoys a dominant position and the membership of state premier Daniel Andrews.

John Setka. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

The AEC’s lawsuit against the CFMEU comes after similar action against former Victorian Liberal Party director Sam McQuestin over full-page newspaper ads attacking a Labor candidate.

In that case, lodged in the Federal Court last month, the AEC claims an authorisation line written in small white type against a coloured background was illegible.