CFMEU split deepens over ‘secret deal’ with Christian Porter

Tensions flare as CFMEU’s mining and energy division says it will look at breaking away if the government’s union demerger bill passes.

Tony Maher has been attacked over discussions with the Attorney-General.

The CFMEU’s mining and energy division secretary, Tony Maher, has signalled his members will consider splitting from the dysfunctional union, confirming he held talks with Christian Porter about proposed laws to allow the break up of the union.

The union’s former national secretary Michael O’Connor also flagged the manufacturing division would examine leaving the union. He and Mr Maher rejected claims by the construction division’s Dave Noonan that Mr Maher had never raised mining and energy division splitting from the union.

As Labor left open supporting the government’s demerger bill, revealed by The Weekend Australian on Saturday, the ACTU called a meeting of affiliated union leaders on Monday to consider the demerger proposal.

Mr Noonan, the construction division national secretary, attacked Mr Maher for holding talks with the Attorney-General about the proposed laws, accusing him of making a “secret deal” with the government.

Dave Noonan Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

Mr Maher said on Sunday he held talks with Mr Porter about the bill, which, if passed, would allow the mining and energy division, as well as the manufacturing division, to split from the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union.

“We have always dealt with the government of the day,” he said. “I am regularly in dialogue with the Federal government on a range of issues affecting my members, and the current highly restrictive demerger laws are among the issues I have raised.”

Mr Noonan said Mr Maher did not inform the CFMEU, the ACTU “nor any other union about his secret meeting with Christian Porter”.

“He still hasn’t told anyone what deals he has done with the Attorney-General and the Morrison government,” Mr Noonan said. “The government will use this bill to divert attention from the industrial relations omnibus bill it is putting to parliament next week, which is the beginning of a march back to WorkChoices.”

Mr Noonan said Mr Maher and the mining and energy division had never made any proposal to disamalgamate from the union at any formal or informal meeting.

“The fundamental principle of a democratic workers organisation is to accept majority decisions made by the democratic processes of the union,” he said. “It’s understandable that some individuals will be disappointed if the majority decision doesn’t go the way they wish or their personal views do not convince the majority..”

In response to Mr Noonan, Mr Maher said: “It’s a lie that I’ve never raised our division’s desire to look at withdrawing from the amalgamated union. I’ve raised it with Dave several times and it’s been ignored.”

Mr O’Connor said Mr Maher made it very clear at officers’ meetings that the mining division would leave the union if the law allowed. “The way I used to report back to my membership was that it’s clear if the miners could get out, you wouldn’t see them for dust,” he told The Australian.

“Dave Noonan doesn’t speak for our division. We (manufacturing) haven’t seen the bill. We will determine our position through proper, democratic processes and we won’t be intimidated or stood over by anybody when we make that decision.”

Mr Maher signalled the mining and energy division would consider leaving the CFMEU if the bill was passed.

“Disamalgamation provisions should be more workable,” he said. “It’s a weakness of the current legislation that unions can only demerge within a narrow time window, regardless of the circumstances. It’s undemocratic.”

He said the mining and energy division’s central council “has instructed us to look at all options for our future direction, given the current challenges and dysfunction” inside the CFMEU.

“If the bill passes through parliament and a new union structure is available that would put mining and energy workers in a better position, then we have an obligation to put it forward to members for their consideration,” he said.

Capitalising on the civil war engulfing the CFMEU, Mr Porter will bring a bill to parliament this week to permit disaffected divisions of an amalgamated union to vote to break away and form their own stand-alone union, taking their assets and members with them.

If passed, the legislation would open the way for members of the CFMEU’s mining and energy division, as well as its manufacturing division — both of which have fallen out with the rival construction and maritime divisions — to vote to leave the union.

Attorney-General Christian Porter.

Government sources separately confirmed the death of the Ensuring Integrity Bill, which was shelved by the Coalition at the start of the pandemic. If the disaffected divisions break from the CFMEU, the government will examine further legislation that specifically targets its construction and maritime divisions.

Under current law, divisions of an amalgamated union are prevented from de-merging five years after amalgamation, meaning the mining and energy division and the manufacturing division are unable to leave the CFMEU.

The new bill, to be introduced at the same time as the government’s industrial relations omnibus bill, would allow the Fair Work Commission to approve a ballot of members to vote on whether to split after the usual five-year period has elapsed.

Labor’s industrial relations spokesman, Tony Burke, said the Opposition would examine the details of the bill.

“There is already a limited situation where members can vote to demerge. We will work through the detail to see how far this is expanded,” he said.

“We want to reflect the will of the members without tying organisations up in red tape. The Liberals and Nationals have tried for years to take away union members’ democratic rights with their union-bashing legislation.”

Master Builders chief executive Denita Wawn said while the organisation’s members “continue to strongly back the intent of the Ensuring Integrity bill, this is a good start to an alternative path forward”.