Four sacked CFMEU leaders still Victorian ALP members

Four sacked officials are among about 300 CFMEU unionists who are also members of the Victorian ALP, a revelation that confirms deep and ongoing political connections between the union and Labor.

Former CFMEU organiser Joe Myles.

Four sacked officials are among about 300 CFMEU unionists who are also members of the Victorian ALP, a revelation that confirms deep and ongoing political connections between the militant industrial organisation and Labor.

The Australian has confirmed the CFMEU construction division members, including the four officials ousted when the union was placed into administration over allegations of bikie links and misconduct claims, remain grassroots members of the Victorian ALP.

Labor suspended the union from the party but axed CFMEU officials Derek Christopher, Joe Myles, Elias Spernovasilis and Robert Graauwmans, who are still members of local ALP branches connected to state and federal electorates.

Despite being shown the door after the former John Setka-led division was placed in administration for five years by the Albanese government, Mr Christopher, the union’s former assistant state secretary, remains a member of the Kalkallo branch in the federal electorate of Calwell.

Mr Myles, the union’s former state senior vice-president, is a member of the Northcote branch in the electorate of Cooper. Mr Spernovasalis, who was also the union’s former state assistant secretary, is a member of the Creswick branch in the federal electorate of Ballarat. Mr Graauwmans, the union’s former state branch president, is a member of the Warrandyte branch in the seat of Menzies.

The four axed senior CFMEU officials failed to return messages on Tuesday from The Australian. Police raided Mr Christopher’s home in 2017 as part of an investigation into claims that contractors supplied building materials in return for favourable treatment. He has denied any wrongdoing. There is no suggestion the other three sacked officials personally engaged in misconduct.

Many of the estimated 300 CFMEU-ALP members are in branches that sit within federal electorates including Cooper, Fraser, Gellibrand, Gorton and Hawke in Melbourne’s inner and outer suburbs.

Derek Christopher.

Other federal electorates with double-digit numbers of CFMEU members include Holt, which sits in the outer south-east, Lalor in the western suburbs, and McEwen in the outer east. Wills in the city’s inner-northern suburbs counts more than 20 CFMEU unionists as party members.

There are an estimated 13,000 Victorian ALP members but small numbers of unionists and factional figures working as a bloc can wield influence on internal party preselections and policy debates.

Several CFMEU officials including Corey Laux, Lisa Zanatta and Mr Myles are members of the Victorian ALP’s 100-strong public office selection committee, which plays a key role in selecting state and federal candidates at elections.

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

Meanwhile, former CFMEU Victorian secretary Mr Setka remains under active investigation by the federal workplace regulator over his threats against the Australian Football League, despite his subsequent resignation.

Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth commenced an investigation in June into Mr Setka’s threat to wage a work-to-rule campaign on AFL projects unless the league sacked its head of umpiring, Stephen McBurney, a former building watchdog.

The probe is examining whether Mr Setka’s attacks on the AFL constitute potential breaches of the Fair Work Act.

The Australian has confirmed the FWO investigation is ongoing

In response to Mr Setka’s threats against the AFL, the Albanese government introduced laws allowing the CFMEU’s manufacturing division to split from the union.

Mr Setka quit in July after being questioned about the union’s alleged links to outlaw motorcycle gangs.