CFMEU civil war erupts in war of words

The CFMEU’s construction division chief, Dave Noonan, has accused the rival mining division of seeking to ‘render the union dysfunctional’.

CFMEU construction division chief Dave Noonan. Picture: Roy Van Der Vegt

The CFMEU’s construction division chief, Dave Noonan, has accused the rival mining division of seeking to “render the union dysfunctional”, as the warring camps escalate a bitter dispute over rule changes designed to install Christy Cain as national secretary.

Correspondence between senior officials obtained by The Australian illustrate the bad blood between the union’s senior officials, with the mining and energy division accusing the construction division of trying to disturb the “long-settled power balances”.

In a seven-page letter to union officers on March 19, Mr Noonan said the leaders of the mining division — Tony Maher and Grahame Kelly — had appeared to undermine and frustrate the proper function of the CFMEU for months. “Their conduct has been in bad faith and has inflicted damage upon the union,” he wrote.

Mr Noonan pointed to attempts by the mining division to intervene in the construction division’s application to the Fair Work Commission for rule changes that relate to the conduct of the national executive and would allow Mr Cain, a senior maritime division official, to be ­appointed national secretary.

Alister Kentish, the mining division’s legal officer, has written two letters to the commission, expressing concern about Mr Cain’s appointment and claiming that his recent “representations to be holding the office are highly irr­egular and without foundation”.

He accused Mr Noonan of wrongly holding himself out as acting national secretary, despite recent judicial criticism of the claim. He said Mr Noonan had no capacity to call national executive meetings or submit matters to be voted on.

Mr Kentish said the mining division regarded the issues raised as “strongly indicative of the deep dysfunction which is presently afflicting the CFMEU, its divisions and members”.

The mining division is seeking access to the file on the rule change application held by the commission and has flagged making a submission to the tribunal.

Mr Noonan wrote that the mining division’s conduct was a “cause for serious concern” and he did not think it was consistent with the obligations of officers under the Registered Organisations Act.

In his letter to mining division officials, he said: “It is clear that your division is seeking to manufacture a narrative that the CFMEU is dysfunctional. However, it is your division’s conduct that is calculated to render the union dysfunctional. Your division has consistently sought to frustrate the proper governance and operations of the union.”

Becoming the first union division to capitalise on the Coalition’s union demerger laws, mining and energy division delegates resolved this month to split from the union, declaring it had been overtaken by “macho posturing” and had never been less ­respected within the union movement and the community.

The mining and energy division is expected to apply soon for a ballot of members to vote on splitting from the union. It could be followed by the manufacturing division, whose leaders have also fallen out with construction and maritime officials.

In his March 19 letter, Mr Noonan said he was open to repairing the relationship between the mining and energy division “and the rest of the union”, and was prepared to seek out agreement for the national executive to consider the rule changes for a third time.