Get out from under the Covid doona, AEC told

CFMEU has threatened Federal Court action against the AEC over delays in the holding of elections for the union’s construction division.

‘It’s alright for the Prime Minister to tell people they need to come out from under the COVID doona. The Australian Electoral Commission needs to get out from under the COVID doona and do their job’: CFMEU Dave Noonan. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

The CFMEU has threatened Federal Court action against the Australian Electoral Commission over delays in the holding of elections for the union’s construction division, declaring the agency needs to “get out from under the COVID doona”.

Elections for the Construction Forestry Maritime Mining and Energy Union’s construction and general division are among several registered organisation elections delayed after the AEC stopped conducting industrial elections from March to September, citing the impact of COVID-19.

Under CFMEU rules, nomin­ations for construction and general division elections across the country were to open no later than August 31 and close on September 18.

In a letter to the AEC on Monday, the division’s national secretary, Dave Noonan, said the union had filed prescribed information by June 30 and as a result the AEC was required under the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act to conduct the elections. He said the union intended to launch court proceedings seeking judicial review of the AEC’s action in suspending the elections, as well as an inquiry into the decision.

“The process of engagement with unions and registered organisations has been pretty shambolic,” Mr Noonan said. “We (initially) heard about this via a post on their website. It’s unclear how they have got the power to do what they have done but, more broadly, we have got a federal agency here which is supposed to be facilitating members getting a vote in their elections.”

He said council elections had been held in Victoria, elections had been conducted in the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory, while the Queensland election was going ahead on Saturday.

“It’s incredible that the AEC can’t conduct postal ballots for a trade union,” he said.

“That’s a serious issue and they have never addressed what are the barriers to actually having the election. The second thing is they are unable to tell us when there will be an election.

“It’s alright for the Prime Minister to tell people they need to come out from under the COVID doona. The Australian Electoral Commission needs to get out from under the COVID doona and do their job.”

The union has sought a detailed response from the AEC by October 30, seeking the legal justification for the suspension and a proposed timetable for the ­election.

An AEC spokesman said the agency, like many organisations and businesses, needed to adapt services and, in some cases, halt certain activities because of the pandemic. He said a number of elections had been conducted in recent months under special arrangements, including elections for the CFMEU’s mining and energy division.

“The AEC’s program of industrial elections and ballots resumed at the beginning of October and there are a number of electoral events under way and others that are now being rescheduled.

“This requires careful scheduling and resourcing, including the employment of surge AEC staff — an activity well under way.”

He said the CFMEU’s construction division election timetable was “in the process of being confirmed” and would be ­communicated to the union on Wednesday.