CFMEU needs a complete rebuild

The national secretary of the CFMEU, Zach Smith, is living in a parallel universe where he thinks Australians trust him and his mates to investigate allegations that have shamed the labour movement and Labor governments – all of whom have sat on their hands and allowed the culture of this maverick union to run unhindered.

The storm engulfing the CFMEU follows a joint investigation by the Herald, The Australian Financial Review and 60 Minutes revealing allegations of bikie and underworld infiltration and allegations union support was being traded for kickbacks.

The latest article in this series published on Wednesday shows that a police camera hidden in the ceiling of the CFMEU’s Sydney office allegedly captured NSW construction union boss Darren Greenfield being passed a $5000 bundle of cash as part of a suspected kickback deal involving money traded for union backing. The vision was filmed as part of a joint NSW Police and AFP operation targeting Greenfield and which led to his charging with corruption offences in late 2021, which he is defending and which remain before the courts.

CFMEU NSW secretary Darren Greenfield is facing bribery charges.

Smith went on the ABC’s RN Breakfast program on Tuesday to tell the nation to butt out. He would clean up his own house and was bringing in “external eminent legal minds” to help manage the investigation process and make recommendations.

Smith’s arrogant intransigence came as the crisis engulfing his union deepened with the CFMEU placing the Victorian branch into administration, federal Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke considering deregistration and Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan promising to suspend the CFMEU from the ALP and temporarily bar political donations while she referred the Victorian issues to Victoria Police and the state’s Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission for investigation.

Smith claimed any move to deregister the union would be a disaster for workers employed in a dangerous and precarious industry and whose conditions had been protected by years of enterprise bargains. The inconvenient truth is that our investigation showed there are now serious clouds over how these agreements were reached.

Hours before our investigation was published John Setka, the CFMEU’s Victorian secretary, quit on Friday evening. NSW Premier Chris Minns subsequently said Greenfield “should go” while he is facing bribery charges. “They’re before the court, they couldn’t be more serious, and it’s hard to think or see how he can continue in that role,” Minns said.

However, Smith stood by both men, angrily rejecting suggestions he had been handpicked for the national secretary job by both. Even footage of Setka paying a menacing nighttime visit to the home of a senior union official to dump a suitcase scrawled with a message attacking the official as a “dog” could not budge him. “I was surprised,” Smith told the ABC. “It’s not something I would have done. I’m sure John probably regrets it now, but I’ll let John Setka the private citizen and no longer secretary of the branch speak for himself.”

Smith thought the fact that Setka chose to step aside was the best thing for the union and members and spoke “to his integrity”. As for Greenfield, Smith believed he should stay in the job and had the support of membership and branch management. Of course, even if Greenfield did stand down pending the outcome of his case, that is not an admission of guilt in relation to the charges.

In some circumstances, honour among mates can be admirable. But the union’s thuggish culture has been allowed to flourish to the point where hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ dollars are being spent on government projects and Smith is now defending the indefensible. The CFMEU clearly needs new leadership.

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