Qld union heavyweights in biff, noses out of joint over snub for Palaszczuk’s last supper
The brawling – including a biff between two heavyweights at a Labour Day dinner – has a whiff of the days leading up to the fall of Rome.
G’day readers and welcome to the latest edition of Feeding the Chooks, your weekly insight into what’s really going on in Queensland politics.
Last days of Rome
The eruption of brawling within Queensland’s union movement – including a biff between two heavyweights at a Labour Day dinner – has a whiff of the days leading up to the fall of Rome.
After nine years of unprecedented union influence over the third-term government led by Annastacia Palaszczuk, and now Steven Miles, successive polls and a recent by-election loss has Labor on the path to defeat at the October 26 state election.
But as Labor turns to the unions to dig deep to fund their election campaign, the comrades have been busy fighting among themselves, literally.
Chooks spies tell us that tensions boiled over at the annual Labour Day dinner last Friday night at the Plaza Ballroom of Brisbane’s Convention & Exhibition Centre where Miles received a standing ovation at the $140-a-head soiree to his impassioned speech about the role of unions in the democracy.
Electrical Trade Union state secretary Peter Ong and his counterpart at the Maritime Union of Australia Jason Miners are alleged to have had heated words at the entry to the ballroom, before things got physical.
Spies tells us that the pair “wasn’t messing around” in the altercation and that security guards eventually got involved and broke up the fight.
When contacted, Ong told Chooks that our many spies had got it wrong: “no idea what you are talking about, it’s not true.”
Miners was less emphatic in playing down the reports, saying: “There was a robust exchange between comrades and we plan to catch-up next week for a beer.’’
But there is unlikely to be any lubricated peace talks in the planning between the bosses of the CFMEU and the Australian Workers Union.
The CFMEU and its state secretary Michael Ravbar came out swinging this week, not only against Cross River Rail contractor CPB (against which it took brutal strike action) but also the AWU, which Ravbar dubbed “Australia’s Worst Union”.
The entries to several sites of Cross River Rail – the state’s biggest project – were blocked and padlocked in the early morning by bunches of muscled, masked men.
The CFMEU, which has only 120-plus members on the project, has denied any knowledge of the lockout that led to the rest of the workforce, many of whom are members of the AWU, ETU and plumbers’ unions, being stood down without pay.
On the first day of the strike on Tuesday, assistant state secretary Jade Ingham accused the AWU (who got coverage of the project, over the CFMEU) of inking a “substandard” agreement with CPB and for failing to speak up for workers.
Later in the week, after the Federal Court warned the CFMEU strikers they could face jail if they harassed, abused or stopped other workers from entering construction sites, the union dug up a months-old (but still damning) Federal Court Judgement against the AWU.
Demonstrating his customary subtlety, Ravbar accused the AWU of corruption, cooking its books, and being a “creche for political hacks and a blight on the trade union movement,” after the court fined the union $290,000 for 27,140 contraventions of the law for failing to keep accurate membership records.
The Cross River Rail action ran in parallel to fights on a CFMEU picket line of another government project, the $300m (and counting) Centenary Bridge upgrade.
All of it seemed to prompt Jacqueline King, the general secretary of the Queensland Council of Unions, the movement’s peak body with 26 member unions, to issue a statement.
“Violence is the antithesis of core union values of solidarity, collectivism, co-operation, safety, respect, inclusion and diversity,’’ she said.
“The union movement and workers are stronger together when we create safe and respectful spaces for each other.
“And when we work together cooperatively and respectfully we achieve great things.’’
Speaking of which, Chooks hears that the Mining & Energy Union and AWU are now wanting to join the QCU ranks.
The miners quit in 2018, but the AWU has never been affiliated with the QCU since it was formed in 1885.
One unionist said the move is about “strength in numbers” and that for too long “power has rested in the hands of one or two” – a reference, we believe, to the unbridled access and influence of one Gary Bullock, boss of the United Workers Union and patron (political) saint of both the former and current premier.
You can’t sit with us
When it came to Annastacia Palaszczuk’s long-awaited farewell dinner, the once all-powerful premier made it clear – it’s my party and I’ll invite who I want to.
The chatter in Labor circles was not just about who was invited to the intimate affair, but the longtime loyalists who didn’t make the cut when Labor HQ organised the meal in the private dining room of Woolloongabba’s 1889 Enoteca (Palaszczuk does love her Italian).
Not a single sitting MP was invited. The snub cut deep, with former hardworking staffers and some MPs miffed at being excluded from chowing down on some classic Roman cuisine and Italian wine with their former leader.
Chooks hears even Premier Steven Miles, Old Guard faction leader Grace Grace and Right faction leader/deputy premier Cameron Dick had to make do with the parliamentary canteen that night.
State MPs still close with Palaszczuk say the dinner was to say thank you to her hardworking staff who put in the hard yards over the years.
Seemingly the only pollie who did manage to score an invitation was federal Speaker Milton Dick (one of Palaszczuk’s closest friends) but our spies say he did not actually attend.
Some of the other “lucky” few who managed to nab an invite included blacklisted lobbyist Evan Moorhead, Palaszczuk’s former COS Jim Murphy, her old policy director Peter Nibbs and media spinner Lindsay Marshall. Labor president John Battams and state secretary Kate Flanders were also among those that attended.
Free range lobbyists
Ex-Queensland MPs are given the rare privilege of almost unfettered, lifetime access to the state parliament. But when former MPs are cashing in on their relationships with old political mates for their corporate clients, should the rules be changed?
Chooks has spotted a conga line of MPs-turned-lobbyists stalking the halls of power this year, “casually” bumping into former colleagues, including ex-Newman government minister Scott Emerson, former Howard administration Cabinet minister (and former QLD MP) Santo Santoro, and one-time Labor minister Kate Jones (who has strenuously denied acting as a lobbyist, even while working for a lobbying firm).
Former LNP MP and minister Mark McArdle may join those ranks soon, after being lured out of retirement by Canberra-registered lobbying firm Cornerstone Group. (Neither Cornerstone, nor McArdle features on Queensland’s register).
As Emerson – who has hung up his shingle with banned Labor lobbyist Cameron Milner – tells Chooks, he’s been “approached by many businesses from Queensland and across Australia seeking assistance to engage” with the alternative government.
Oddly, given that apparent bombardment, Emerson has not declared a new client since October, and has not disclosed any lobbying since April last year.
Chooks has seen Emerson at parliament in every sitting week this year, often perched on seats between the Opposition offices and the elevator MPs take to access the chamber, and even at the back of David Crisafulli’s Olympics press conference a few weeks ago.
Peddling influence for cash is all about access, and how better to demonstrate that to potential deep-pocketed clients than strutting through the parliament unescorted, with the power to just appear at the office of a minister or Opposition Leader unannounced.
And while we’re on the topic of professional door-openers, we couldn’t help but notice the parliament was positively swarming with them this week, some of whom propped up a fundraiser in aid of Glass House LNP MP Andrew Powell’s re-election hopes.
Just a handful of the lobbyists Chooks spotted this week were Santoro, former Newman staffer Jeff Popp, ex-LNP spinner Geraldine Mitchell andEmerson.
Let the tale of Labor lobbyists Milner, Evan Moorhead and David Nelson be a cautionary one: the trio were caught secretly running Annastacia Palaszczuk’s 2020 election campaign, and were subsequently blacklisted from doing business with the government for an entire term. So-called “dual-hatting” by campaigner-lobbyists is now illegal.
Santo downsizes
Speaking of Santo Santoro, records show he has abruptly ditched all but four of his lobbying clients, parting ways with 13 companies including casino giant Star Entertainment Group, on Wednesday.
Presumably Santoro’s trying to look like less of a lobbyist ahead of a vote of the LNP’s metro north branch next week to determine if he should be its next chair – securing him a spot on the party’s powerful state executive.
But – as Chooks revealed last week – lobbyists are now banned from “dual hatting” and playing a “substantial role” in an election campaign. If Santoro wins a seat on the exec – which “manages all the affairs of the party” – and the LNP wins the October election, he’ll likely be banned from lobbying the new government.
The price of power.
Blow-back on Miles
Did Steven Miles really think he could rush through changes to youth crime laws without some sort of revolt from the rank and file?
In a stinging letter, seen by the Chooks, the six heads of Labor’s powerful equity groups condemn Miles’ decision to overhaul a legal principle that children be detained in custody only as a last resort.
Sent to Miles, Youth Justice Minister Di Farmer and Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath, the letter accuses the government of betraying Labor values and abandoning principles set-out in the party’s state platform.
“The abandonment of the platform is a source of shame for members of our party,” read the letter signed by Queensland Indigenous Labor Network convener Jerome Pang, Multicultural Labor convener Ashwina Gotame, Rainbow Labor convener Luke Moore, Queensland Young Labor president Angus Haigh, Labor Women’s Network chair Irene Monro and Labor Enabled convener Janine Aitken.
“We urge the Government to support our platform and tireless effort of activists across our party who have collaborated in good faith with the government to build our state platform.
“This proposal is completely at odds with our state platform and is occurring in a year in which your government will not have to be accountable to our party conference.”
Keen to avoid any public infighting before October’s election, Labor will not have a state conference this year.
The LNP may follow suit in future, with grassroots members raring to take David Crisafulli to task over his support of emission reduction targets at the party’s state convention in July.
Great Scott!
Together Union boss Alex Scott has made no secret of the fact he is on a mission to amass his power and influence over the Labor government.
After sitting back and watching United Workers Union boss Gary “Blocker” Bullock play puppet master during last year’s leadership coup, Scott has been busy bankrolling third party campaigns for a select group of MPs.
And he looks to be trying to poach some of Bullock’s loyal UWU servants with Aaron Harper, Kim Richards, Peter Russo, Jess Pugh all benefiting from Together’s big-spending “Coalition of Working Families” advertising campaign.
Russo – with declared affiliations to UWU and the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union – tells Chooks he had a long association with Scott and had not been approached to join Together.
“In a tough campaign, you don’t knock back help,” he said.
Scott has also thrown two evening soirees at parliament in recent weeks. As one Labor spy told Chooks: “It’s good to see someone going up against Blocker”.
Backstabbers beware
Draft laws giving police extraordinary powers to stop and search people for knives at shopping centres, sporting matches, nightclubs, servos and fast food joints were introduced to state parliament this week.
Journalists were invited down for a “wanding” demonstration during the parliament lunch break on Wednesday.
And it appears Police Minister Mark Ryan is keen to extend the powers further, trialling a stop and search on backbenchers (perhaps to ensure loyalty to the leader).
Luckily Maryborough MP Bruce Saunders left his in the parliamentary cafeteria.
Overheard
What is it with Queensland Labor leaders and breakfast radio amnesia?
Annastacia Palaszczuk famously forgot the GST rate live on air during the 2015 election campaign, and on Friday morning, Steven Miles couldn’t remember how much the Cross River Rail is costing Queenslanders.
Don’t worry Premier, it’s only the government’s largest infrastructure project. To be fair though, the cost keeps going up, and up, and up, so perhaps it’s tricky to keep track.
According to last year’s budget papers, the taxpayer-funded capital cost of the public transport behemoth is now $6.349bn, with an extra $1.499bn from a public-private partnership, (up from a total $5.4bn not that long ago).
Don’t memorise this figure though, it’ll probably soar again in next month’s budget.
Jet off
Steven Miles faced a grilling in parliament this week about the cost to taxpayers of using two private jets to fly himself and Police Minister Mark Ryan on a regional crime tour last week.
Unsurprisingly he fobbed off questions about why two planes were needed and how much the airborne jaunt cost, saying it would be released in a ministerial expenses report down the track.
A constituent of Nanango MP Deb Frecklington seemed to have a credible explanation, the MP told parliament: “With all due respect, they went to Townsville. They had to take two jets in case one got stolen.”
Spotted #1
As Chooks predicted a few weeks ago, former Queensland Bar Association president Rebecca Treston has been appointed to the Supreme Court by Labor Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath
Treston handed out how-to-vote cards for Labor’s Dickson candidate Ali France at the 2019 election, and even tweeted a picture of herself giving an ALP flyer to Dickson LNP MP Peter Dutton.
There are expected to be a few more judicial appointments before the election – stay tuned.
Spotted #2
Queensland Labor headquarters has been so busy trying to save the furniture, it has forgotten to update its membership cards.
New membership cards still feature Annastacia Palaszczuk in triumphant salute with Anthony Albanese.
Spotted #3
Labor has endorsed former Isaac Shire Mayor Anne Baker as its candidate for the LNP-held seat of Burdekin (Dale Last, 7 per cent), in central Queensland, for the October election.
Chooks notes that as mayor, Baker spearheaded the Save Glenden campaign that drove the Labor government to change the law, which mining company QCoal argued disadvantaged their workers.
That decision incensed QCoal’s billionaire boss Chris Wallin so thoroughly, he launched a $1m third-party campaign against Labor ahead of the election, including presumably in Baker’s chosen seat.
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