Albanese to appoint independent administrator to CFMEU

Senior Labor and union figures said federal intervention was the best way to deal with the serious allegations against the union.

The federal government will appoint an independent administrator to oversee the CFMEU Picture: Glenn Campbell/NewsWire

The Albanese government is set to appoint an independent administrator to oversee the CFMEU, with senior Labor and union figures backing federal intervention as the best way to deal with the serious allegations against the union.

Cabinet and union sources said on Tuesday that the government would shortly announce the appointment of an independent administrator, ridiculing claims by CFMEU officials that the union could adequately investigate the claims of wrongdoing.

One senior minister told The Australian that appointing administrators to stamp out criminals from the CFMEU was the “only option” left for the government.

The minister said there would be too many unintended consequences if the union was deregistered and it would not be as effective in cleaning up the building sector in the long term.

Another minister said appointing an administrator was necessary as there was little to no confidence in government ranks that the CFMEU national office had the capacity to clean up the union, particularly after its national secretary Zach Smith praised John Setka as a “legend”.

National builders expressed an open mind about appointing an independent administrator, but opposed deregistration, warning it could result in the rise of a new union “with no laws governing its operations”.

“The federal government should examine all available tools to ensure a truly independent and well-resourced investigation into these allegations. If that involves appointing an external administrator, then so be it,“ Master Builders Australia chief executive Denita Wawn said.

Ahead of an ACTU executive meeting on Wednesday that will consider the adequacy of the CFMEU’s response to the allegations, Mr Smith rejected the need for an external administrator, with the union engaging Peter Morrissey SC to investigate the allegations against the union.

Mr Morrissey has acted in various proceedings for the CFMEU but sources said he had no personal relations with state union officials or with the branch “such as to raise a reasonable apprehension of bias”.

Under the terms of his engagement, Mr Morrissey would make findings of fact, applying the rules of natural justice, but with no coercive powers.

He would provide a written report to the CFMEU and be able to make adverse findings of fact against any individuals, and make critical comment of the union, if relevant.

RMIT law professor Anthony Forsyth said deregistration was generally only available for industrial misconduct rather than criminal behaviour.

“The government could instead apply to have relevant branches of the CFMEU placed into administration, so its affairs are run by an independent third party until the allegations are investigated and resolved,” he said.

“This would overtake steps already taken by the Victorian branch to voluntarily enter administration.”

The federal Coalition called on Anthony Albanese to instruct Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke to apply for the deregistration of the CFMEU, but Ms Wawn said she did not support the deregistration of the union.

“Many of our members want to see deregistration, but our concern is we’ll just see another rise of another union with no laws governing its operations just like we’ve seen the CFMEU rise out of the ashes of the BLF,” she said.

CFMEU members pictured blocking Cross River Rail workers from entering the Roma Street station worksite in Brisbane. Picture: David Clark

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has sought to blame bureaucratic delays, which she conceded “didn’t meet expectations”, for taking a year to respond after her office was made aware of serious allegations concerning the conduct of CFMEU officials on a government-funded major project.

Maintaining she has “always acted” when allegations concerning the union have been raised with her, Ms Allan made public a letter she wrote to Police Commissioner Shane Patton in May 2023, concerning separate matters raised with her by Major Transport Infrastructure Authority boss Kevin Devlin.

“In the course of a regular meeting regarding major infrastructure projects, Mr Devlin advised that the MTIA was anecdotally aware of a small number of possible criminal incidents on government infrastructure projects,” Ms Allan wrote in the letter.

She noted that further investigation by Department of Transport and Planning secretary Paul Younis had “not found any evidence of systemic, widespread, or organised criminal activity on MTIA worksites”, but said she nevertheless felt “dutybound” to raise the issue with the police commissioner.

Discussing the referral in a radio interview on Tuesday, Mr Patton said the matter had been referred to police crime command, however, “there wasn’t any further action taken because it wasn’t deemed to be any threshold of criminality met”.

Asked why Victoria Police have not been more proactive in investigating allegations of criminal conduct in the construction industry, Mr Patton said police could “only act when we have matters referred to us”.

“We don’t go actively trawling through union business or conduct with procurements or anything unless it’s reported to us,” he told ABC radio.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan answers questions into allegations of criminal conduct by CFMEU officials on Monday. Picture: Ian Currie/NewsWire

In response to revelations by the Nine Network that she did not respond to written allegations that a subcontractor had been subject to violent threats and intimidation by the CFMEU until a year after her office was first contacted, Ms Allan conceded the “processes in place did not … particular correspondence being acted on or resolved quickly”.

“People coming forward with critical information about conduct on work sites don’t deserve to get bounced around between agencies, agency to agency, government to government,” the Premier said.

“It’s clear that the correspondence was not processed quickly enough, but when it was formally … lodged with both my office and the Major Transport Infrastructure Authority, it was acted upon … and it was very clear that these were matters that were best addressed by the agency responsible for dealing with workplace matters in this state, and that is the federal government agency.”

Surveyors Australia chief executive Michelle Blicavs, meanwhile, revealed she met with the then-deputy premier and transport infrastructure minister in early 2023 to raise concerns regarding surveyors being prevented by the CFMEU from working on state government jobs, accusing Ms Allan of having “brushed it off as something she couldn’t help with”.

“We were left on our own to solve the problem — and it remains unsolved,” Ms Blicavs said.

Asked to respond to the Ms Blicavs’ allegations, Ms Allan said she recalled the meeting.

“Allegations were put to me by Surveyors Australia, in terms of poor behaviour that was being displayed on Victorian work sites, and as a demonstration of taking action and having a zero tolerance approach to this sort of behaviour, a demonstration of taking action is the fact that I met with Surveyors Australia,” the Premier said.

“We had a conversation about the behaviour that was of concern to Surveyors Australia. It was a concern to me as well, which is why the advice to Surveyors Australia, and this was also working with the Major Transport Infrastructure Authority, was to go and talk to the federal agency with responsibility for dealing with these matters here in Victoria.”