Labor divided over future of John Setka’s CFMEU

Labor MPs were split over how far the government should intervene in the running of the CFMEU, with one MP arguing the union should be deregistered while another said it was capable of cleaning itself up.

Former Victorian CFEMU boss John Setka. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

Labor MPs were split over how far the government should intervene in the running of the CFMEU, with one MP arguing the union should be deregistered while another suggested it was capable of cleaning itself up.

Ahead of speculation that the government would appoint an independent administrator to oversee the CFMEU, Queensland Labor MP Graham Perrett said the union’s leaders were capable of stamping out bad behaviour.

Amid allegations of corruption, bullying and intimidating conduct by members of the CFMEU, Mr Perrett cautioned against pre-empting the course of “natural justice”, saying any investigation should be allowed to run its course.

Mr Perrett said union officials needed to have a “strong moral core” to fight effectively for workers, adding that he was “horrified” at the idea of criminals infiltrating any workplace but he had faith the union could repair itself.

“There’s been a version of the CFMEU around for 150-plus years fighting for workers rights, like the eight-hour day,” he said.

“They have a long, proud history of looking after people in that industry. I’d like to hope good, honest, sensible unionists have control of the union in the future.”

Another MP, who asked to remain anonymous, said it would not be possible to guarantee “proper probity” unless the CFMEU was deregistered and a body appointed to investigate the union, which was thrown into crisis when Victorian division leader John Setka resigned on Friday.

The Labor MP said the ALP should not accept political donations from the CFMEU, and an inquiry was needed to investigate and destroy “corrupt” branches.

“They’re thugs who think about themselves only, they don’t think about their members,” the source said. “Construction needs strong unions who stick up for union rights; it’s a dangerous industry, people die in construction and you need people who can protect the workers, and they have not done that.”

Another Labor member agreed “criminality, thug­gery and gangster-type behaviour should be stamped out” but stopped short of calling for a pause in accepting donations, saying it was a “matter for the party”.

Another Labor parliamentarian said while current actions responding to criminal allegations didn’t go far enough, deregistration might not be the answer.