ABCC “targeted” CFMEU before elections

CFMEU accuses ABCC of launching a high number of court cases before the last two elections.

Stephen McBurney is the Commissioner of the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC).

The Coalition-appointed building watchdog has been accused by the CFMEU of engaging in “inappropriate” conduct by allegedly launching a disproportionately high number of court cases against the union in the months before the last two federal elections.

The Australian Building and Construction Commission announced 14 legal proceedings against unions – predominantly the CFMEU’s construction division – between January and April this year.

The ABCC also announced 10 court actions in the first six months of 2019. In contrast, just four cases were announced in 2020 and 2021 for the same periods.

CFMEU construction division national secretary Dave Noonan said “every one of the cases was accompanied by a lurid statement of allegations distributed to the media”.

“It is clear that it is calculated to cause as much damage to the union during the election campaign but also to try and make a political case for the election,” he said, referencing the Coalition’s attacks on federal Labor for promising at both elections to scrap the ABCC.

“It‘s further evidence of inappropriate activity by the regulator. Some of the cases, the allegations they are pursuing go back a number of years. They seem to mysteriously pop up and be resuscitated in the election lead-up.”

An ABCC spokesman said the regulator did not “choose when the (allegedly unlawful) conduct occurred”.

“Cases filed by the ABCC this calendar year relate primarily to alleged unlawful conduct occurring in 2021,” the spokesman said.

“The lower case numbers cited by the CFMEU for the previous two years were reflective of the impact Covid has had on both the ABCC’s operations and the building and construction industry.

“It is concerning that, since construction has resumed without restrictions, a significant number of new filings have resulted, and the CFMEU remains significantly over-represented in our case statistics, consistent with what has been for all of the period since 2 December 2016.”

He said the union’s citing of case numbers this year had not included two matters filed by the ABCC against employers.

The Weekend Australian revealed on Saturday that ABCC head Stephen McBurney held a “strategic” meeting with the Master Builders Association that discussed the federal election ahead of the May 21 poll, sparking calls by Industrial Relations Minister Tony Burke for an explanation.

Documents obtained under Freedom of Information show Mr McBurney, who knew his position would be abolished if federal Labor was elected, met with senior MBA members, including chief executive Denita Wawn, in Canberra on February 17.

The documents, which sparked fresh union calls for Mr McBurney to resign, state he and the Master Builders discussed “key upcoming issues” including the “forthcoming election” and the ”implications for the building code”, which Labor had promised to scrap if it won power.

ABCC and Master Builders representatives also met in Tasmania in April, discussing the “MBA election campaign” in support of retaining the ABCC and “how it would be similar to the last election running with the union bullying theme”.