CFMEU national secretary Zach Smith quits his key role

The CFMEU national secretary has quit his national position, citing workload pressures and no longer wanting to carry responsibility for decisions made by union administrator Mark Irving.

Ewin HannanWORKPLACE EDITOR

CFMEU national secretary Zach Smith was sick of being a ‘punching bag’ for decisions made by administrator Mark Irving. Picture: Aaron Francis

3 min read

9 hours ago.

Updated 5 hours ago

CFMEU national secretary Zach Smith has quit his national position, citing workload pressures and no longer wanting to carry responsibility for decisions made by union administrator Mark Irving.

Mr Smith told union delegates on Thursday that he was standing down as national secretary but would remain as the union’s Victorian secretary.

Sources said Mr Smith was sick of being a “punching bag” for decisions made by Mr Irving that were not made by him.

They also said a key driver of his decision was Mr Irving’s recent decision to take over the union’s ACT branch and remove Michael Hiscox as the acting ACT branch secretary.

Mr Hiscox took over the branch from Mr Smith, who became national and Victorian secretary last year in the wake of damning allegations against the union’s construction division.

Sources said Mr Smith was only informed of the ACT takeover after the decision had been made but he was still being blamed by internal critics for the move.

In a message to members and staff on Thursday, Mr Smith said he made the “tough decision” that he could not do justice to both the national and Victorian jobs, and the state division members deserved his full focus.

In an apparent reference to decisions made by Mr Irving, he added: “Secondly, I have also decided that while I am more than willing to take responsibility for decisions I make, I cannot be asked to take responsibility for decisions that are not mine.”

He said Labor’s landslide election victory meant the union could not expect to come out of administration even if an imminent High Court ruling ruled the takeover unconstitutional.

“I believe the resounding win for the Labor government means that we cannot rely on a High Court ruling to change the reality,” he said.

“The truth is this – the government holds the power to amend legislation swiftly if needed.

“We need to be prepared for the fact that the administration will be here for some time.”

Mr Smith recently clashed with current and former senior union officials over a proposed restructure his critics claim will drain millions of dollars from the union’s state branches and triple the national office’s expenditure.

Mr Smith’s planned restructure of the union’s national office had been attacked by Mr Hiscox, Western Australian branch secretary Mick Buchan, and former Queensland secretary Michael Ravbar as undemocratic and reducing the voice of rank-and-file members.

In an address to Victorian union delegates in early May, Mr Smith said he was drawing a line in the sand” after being called a “puppet” of Mr Irving.

“But hardest to stomach is that I have been called a dog and a traitor to my union,” he said.

Declaring “f..k you” to his critics, Mr Smith said: “I say to all of those people trying to take me down – what the f..k is your plan?

“What’s next when you get me? I want to keep doing this job.

“I want to be here when the administrator hands the union back to members. I want to fight for the union in every way I can. But I have decided that being called a dog is my line in the sand. I can’t let that go.”

Then at a meeting of delegates on Thursday, Mr Smith announced his resignation.

In his message to members, he urged them to support his plan “for a more capable and better resourced national office”.

“Not only does it not involve any rule changes, or any dilution of the power of the branches, it will bolster and enhance the resources available across the division,” he said.

“I stand by this plan. I urge the union to see it through.”