Gary Bullock’s United Workers’ Union was secretly recording conversations in its Brisbane offices
The powerful union of Queensland Premier Steven Miles’ self-described mentor Gary ‘Blocker’ Bullock has been secretly recording conversations in its Brisbane offices. One particular recording has blown the scandal wide open.
The powerful union of Queensland Premier Steven Miles’s self-described mentor Gary Bullock – who last year delivered him the state’s top job in a backroom factional deal – has been secretly recording conversations in its Brisbane offices.
The United Workers Union was recording conversations 24 hours a day through a network of closed circuit television cameras installed inside and outside its offices in Peel Street, in Brisbane’s South Bank. Headed by Mr Bullock, a member of the ALP national executive, the union has claimed it was an “error” by contractors that led to an upgrade of the CCTV devices to include recording audio as well as video.
It has been refusing to hand over the recordings and has indicated it may take legal action to block their public release on the grounds it will trigger “complex criminal law considerations” for the union and its employees for possibly breaching the Invasion of Privacy Act.
Revelations over the secret recordings have emerged in documents relating to an unfair dismissal case launched by one of its top officials, who was sacked earlier this year over alleged drug use on the premises.
Former UWU political co-ordinator Matt Lawrence, a one-time chief of staff to minister Mick de Brenni, was allegedly captured taking drugs on CCTV footage at the office between October 2 and 5 last year.
The offices of the powerful union, which includes Mr Miles and several cabinet ministers as its members, have been the purported location of high-level political discussions with government ministers, Labor MPs and other unions over the years.
Mr Bullock critically withdrew his support of former premier Annastacia Palaszczuk just before she quit in December last year, and then plotted the elevation of Mr Miles to the top job in a union-driven factional deal.
“Blocker”, as he is known, is the convener of Queensland Labor’s dominant Left faction. He has nurtured Mr Miles since he entered parliament in 2015 and wields unparalleled power over the Premier and his government.
Of the 19-member cabinet, 12 ministers belong to Mr Bullock’s Left or are card-carrying members of the UWU.
Mr Lawrence, who declined to comment, was sacked in May this year. The longtime unionist and political staffer has launched unfair dismissal action in the Fair Work Commission.
In a preliminary hearing, Mr Lawrence sought an order for the union to produce all video and audio recordings of him in and around the offices last year, among other material.
In response to the legal request, the union told the commission that it only discovered during the investigation into Mr Lawrence that audio recordings were being made in and outside its office.
The UWU opposed handing over the audio recordings but not the footage in a preliminary hearing of the commission.
Last week, Fair Work Commission’s vice-president Mark Gibian SC rejected the union application and ordered the union hand over the footage and audio recordings.
“As a result of investigation of the incident involving Mr Lawrence, the UWU became aware that the CCTV devices used at its premises were recording audio as well as video footage,’’ Mr Gibian said in his judgment.
“This was said to have occurred because of an error caused by an upgrade of the system implemented by a contractor.”
Mr Gibian said the union had argued that the audio was irrelevant to the case but that in releasing it there was a risk “that disclosure might result in contravention of the legislation”.
Under the Invasion of Privacy Act, a person is guilty of an offence if the person uses a listening device to overhear, record, monitor or listen to private conversations.
“Finally, the UWU indicated that if it is required to produce the recordings, it may seek a confidentiality order to the effect that the audio evidence and any part of the commission’s decision that relates to the audio evidence not be published,’’ he said.
The period of recordings sought by Mr Lawrence are in the weeks after speculation exploded inside Labor ranks about whether Ms Palaszczuk should lead the party to the state election and after Mr Bullock had refused to publicly back her to remain as leader.
In a statement, UWU national president Jo Schofield said the CCTV cameras were used for “the purpose of security of United Workers Union properties”.
“The use of these security cameras is in line with all legal requirements relating to security cameras,” she said.
“As the United Workers Union said in evidence to the Fair Work Commission, the recording of audio by security cameras in the Brisbane office was an error on the part of contractors installing the cameras.
“That error has been rectified.”
Ms Schofield did not respond to questions about whether union officials and staff knew they were being filmed or recorded inside the Brisbane office or if any recordings had been made of meetings with politicians or officials from the ALP.
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