The CFMEU’s taking it to the streets is protecting corrupted turf

The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union and its mates walked off the job and took to the streets on Tuesday, causing major disruptions in city centres across Australia in addle-headed support of lowlifes and gangsters who corrupted the powerful construction industry union and turned it into one of the country’s most feared organisations.

CMFEU members rally outside NSW Parliament on Macquarie Street, Sydney on Tuesday.Credit: James Brickwood

The show of force was the inevitable backlash to a joint investigation by the Herald, The Australian Financial Review and 60 Minutes that revealed how bikie and underworld figures had infiltrated the building industry courtesy of membership of the CFMEU and were trading union support for kickbacks. Our reports shocked the nation and prompted the Albanese government to put the union in administration.

That happened last Friday, when Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus installed barrister Mark Irving, KC, to run the CFMEU nationally, pushing out almost 300 of the union’s leaders, including its powerful NSW secretary Darren Greenfield.

On the eve of this week’s industrial action, the CFMEU’s former Victorian-Tasmanian secretary, John Setka, who abandoned ship just two days before our investigation was published, claimed the federal government had promised not to put his union into administration if he resigned. For good measure, Setka – who was expelled from the ALP for gross remarks about anti-violence campaigner Rosie Batty, and was accused of assault by his wife, Emma Walters – claimed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was “scared” and “trembling” at their last meeting, which took place in a lift. Albanese says those claims are rubbish.

Bully-boy comments aside, Setka’s grubby attempt to turn himself into a martyr may go down well with the marchers but gain little sympathy from a public understandably disgusted by allegations of corruption under his watch.

The CFMEU leadership seems intent on manufacturing a narrative about their union that is massively out of step with the standards of behaviour expected by the wider community. The last time that a union screamed blue murder was during the 1986 deregistration of the BLF by the Hawke government. Tellingly, that only ended badly for the corrupt leadership. Ironically, it also indirectly resulted in the creation of the CFMEU, making nonsense of the current suggestions that administration will destroy the union. The BLF’s demise also spearheaded accords between government, business and the union leadership that helped deregulate part of the Australian economy.

While Labor has known of the CFMEU’s bullying for years, we are proud that it was our investigation that finally prodded the Albanese government, NSW government and ACTU into action. The crowds at the rallies suggest that the administrator will face a tough time in forcing the union to quit its addiction to bad behaviour, but the marchers must surely realise Irving’s work is not to diminish their ability to fight for fair wages and conditions, but rather to clean up the place.

Those elements within the CFMEU pushing the idea that the union must fight to survive are delusional. They claim they are rallying for solidarity. Really, they are propping up shonks and thugs.

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