CFMEU ‘being driven into red’, former boss Michael Ravbar claims

Former Queensland CFMEU secretary Michael Ravbar has accused union administrator Mark Irving of driving the union’s finances ‘into the red’ through pointless and flawed investigations.

Former CFMEU Queensland secretary Michael Ravbar. Picture: Steve Pohlner

Former Queensland CFMEU secretary Michael Ravbar has accused union administrator Mark Irving of driving the union’s finances “into the red” through pointless and flawed investigations.

Hitting back at Mr Irving’s statement this week that his work had been stymied by a High Court challenge by the union’s former leadership, Mr Ravbar claimed the administration was hiding behind the court proceedings as “a fig leaf for the fact it has found nothing and done nothing for six months, other than smear people’s reputations”.

Mr Irving said the High Court action had frustrated his ability to get whistleblowers to come forward, as they feared ex-officials could be returned to power. He said the legal action had also stymied the administration’s ability to recruit the best staff, and to get industry figures to back reform.

Mr Ravbar said the administration had lost the confidence of union members and the community following a series of _resignations and the “bizarre decision to waste money repeating investigations into the Queensland branch, after the union was cleared by the officer appointed”.

“The administrator had a hand-picked team and one-by-one they have left the administration as they realise they are on a fool’s errand,” he said.

“The administration has now sought to blame and inappropriately interfere in the decision-making of the highest court in the land as they seek to arrive at a predetermined outcome.

“This is our first shot at justice, after laws were changed last year to reach this predetermined outcome and if there is any hope of natural justice for the former leadership and union members, it should be allowed to run without interference.”

Mr Ravbar said the union’s former leadership would continue to raise serious concerns about the “irresponsible misuse of members’ money in this process”.

“They are driving the CFMEU finances into the red with these pointless, repetitive and failed investigations,” he said.

The attack came as Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt called on Coalition employment spokeswoman Michaelia Cash to agree to a televised debate on industrial relations during the federal election campaign.

Senator Watt said on Wednesday that Senator Cash needed to “come clean” about the Coalition’s planned workplace policy changes and the best approach was for her to debate him at the National Press Club before the election.

“No more weasel words, no more delay, front up and tell the Australian people what you intend to do to their jobs and wages after the election,” he said.

“(Opposition Leader) Peter Dutton may think he can get away with hiding his costings for long lunches for bosses, hiding his detail on nuclear, or pretending he will support Medicare, but I won’t let him get away with cutting wages and conditions of workers.

“I challenge Michaelia Cash to come out of hiding, reveal her secret plan to cut wages and debate me at the National Press Club live on national television during the election campaign.”

Senator Cash has not yet made a decision about debating Senator Watt, and during an exchange with him in Senate estimates said she was “living rent free” in his head.

“Murray Watt is struggling for relevance – he knows his ridiculous scare campaign is not getting any traction so wants a new platform,” she said. “He should be focusing on his day job which includes cleaning up the CFMEU debacle in the construction sector that his government directly created. Unfortunately, he is failing.”