This is not the time to flinch on union corruption

Labor cannot afford to hesitate on union corruption when so many voters know the party is deeply conflicted by its financial ties to the CFMEU and top officials.

Anthony Albanese and Tony Burke have made the right decision by moving to appoint an administrator to most parts of the CFMEU in a bid to stop criminal conduct, but this can only be the start of a long project to clean up the union.

Workplace Minister Tony Burke addressing the media on Wednesday.Credit: AAP

The prime minister and employment minister will be exposed to a political penalty if there is any hint they are being too soft on corrupt union officials.

That is because Peter Dutton has such a powerful line of attack when he makes union conduct about the cost of living.

The opposition leader says households suffer the consequences, either as consumers or taxpayers, when the CFMEU pushes up the cost of mammoth state projects and private buildings. This is a fair point. Nobody can be precise about the financial damage, but the economic impact is real.

Will Labor look after households or protect its friends in the union movement? One way to tell will be whether it forces tainted officials out the door.

Peter Dutton has a powerful line of attack when he makes union conduct about the cost of living.

It will be toxic to Labor if there is any suggestion it is going easy on union allies when the CFMEU is making things worse for households already dealing with high rents, housing shortages and rising prices at the supermarket.

Dutton is on weaker ground, however, when he cites Bob Hawke as a Labor hero who took down a corrupt building union and then challenges Albanese to do the same by deregistering the CFMEU.

Hawke deregistered the Builders Labourers Federation in 1986 during a very different era when deregistration had a greater impact. Even then, the BLF survived as an unregistered union and became the nucleus of today’s CFMEU. Changing the legal status did not change the conduct.

There is a strong case for choosing administration instead. This is how then-prime minister Julia Gillard responded to corruption claims about the Health Services Union in 2012. The employment minister at the time, Bill Shorten, found a former judge to run the union.

Norm Gallagher, secretary of the then BLF, in Melbourne in 1984.Credit: Michael Rayner

In the HSU case, the administrator removed officials and cleaned up the books before holding elections so union members could choose a new team.

Burke has taken a different approach on one key point. While the Gillard government went directly to the Federal Court over the HSU, this time Burke is relying on a separate agency to launch the process. He expects the Fair Work Commission to go to court to appoint administrators.

Does this mean Burke wants some distance from the proceedings? It may help if the overhaul of the CFMEU is done at arm’s length from the minister. But it will hurt if there is any sense the regulator is not being firm enough and the minister is not getting results.

Labor has collected millions of dollars in donations from the CFMEU at the same time the union has been sanctioned in court for unlawful conduct. The union’s NSW construction boss, Darren Greenfield, was charged with corruption offences in September 2021. The case is still before the court and he is contesting the charges.

Did Labor really not know what was going on? Is the ACTU really surprised? The government is using the media as a shield by claiming it is only now learning about this conduct. Two years into office, Labor looks complacent about building industry wrongdoing because it scrapped the Australian Building and Construction Commission.

Albanese is no great friend of the CFMEU. He became Labor leader on May 30, 2019, and moved on June 11, 2019 to expel the union’s Victorian boss, John Setka, from the Labor Party. The central accusation from the Coalition, that the prime minister is protecting Setka and his people, fails on that basic fact.

Even so, the action taken five years ago made no difference to how the CFMEU worked. The test for Albanese and Burke is whether they will be tough enough to make a difference now. This is not a time to flinch on union corruption.

Credit: Matt Golding

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.