CFMEU officials still on powerful ALP committee

Four CFMEU officials remain on an influential Victorian ALP committee that preselects state and federal MPs.

Former CFMEU state secretary John Setka. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

CFMEU officials remain on an influential Victorian ALP committee that preselects state and federal MPs, despite the party suspending the militant union and Premier Jacinta Allan calling in the anti-corruption watchdog to investigate allegations of misconduct and corruption on ­taxpayer-funded building sites.

The Albanese government has given the Construction Forestry and Maritime Employees Union until the end of the week to consent to the Fair Work Commission bid to place four construction divisions into administration for at least two years and will introduce a bill legislating the takeover as early as next week if the union refuses.

Documents released by the Federal Court on Wednesday show hundreds of CFMEU officials face losing their positions if the commission succeeds.

In Victoria, four CFMEU officials remain listed as members of the public office selection committee three weeks after the union’s links to bikies was exposed, plunging it into crisis.

While 100 members sit on the committee, sources said the four – Joey Myles, Corey Laux, Lisa Zanatta and James Harris – working as a voting bloc could wield influence for the union on the selection of future state and federal politicians.

“If you want influence in the Victorian ALP, then the POSC is the committee you want to be on,” one party insider told The Australian.

Victorian ALP state secretary Steve Staikos could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. Ms Allan’s office declined to comment. “This is a matter for the party,” a spokesperson said

The Premier has referred allegations of criminal behaviour inside the CFMEU to Victoria Police and the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission.

She has also said she had asked Labor’s National Executive to suspend the CFMEU construction division from the Victorian Labor Party.

According to documents filed with the Federal Court, the FWC is seeking to vacate the positions of union officials in construction divisions along the eastern seaboard as well as South Australia and the Northern Territory.

Within seven days of administrator Mark Irving KC being appointed, the dumped CFMEU officials would be required to hand over cars, credit cards, mobile phones, laptops, security passes, credit cards, union documents and passwords for email and social media accounts.

According to the commission application, CFMEU organisers would continue to be employed during the administration.

In seeking to have the divisions placed into administration, the commission says they have ceased to function effectively.

As well as asserting the union faced “serious allegations of criminal conduct and other unlawful conduct by current and former officeholders”, the commission said the CFMEU had been the subject of findings of contraventions of federal workplace laws on more than 1500 ­occasions since 2003.

CFMEU national secretary Zach Smith is due to meet on Thursday with commission general manager Murray Furlong to discuss the application. He said the union would not declare its position on the commission application until next week.

This is despite Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt warning that if the CFMEU did not consent to the commission application and the matter was not resolved before parliament returned next week, the government would legislate.