TURC: Mirvac denies concealing union donations

A Mirvac executive has ­rejected allegations of a policy to “conceal” union donations using false invoices.

Former CFMEU president Dave Hanna at the royal commission. Picture: Jack Tran.

A senior Mirvac executive has ­rejected allegations of a company policy to “conceal” union donations using false invoices, claims which were aired at the trade union royal commission.

On the final day of public hearings into the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union yesterday, Mirvac’s head of construction, Jason Vieusseux, also denied the company knowingly paid for $150,000 worth of renovations to the Brisbane home of forme­r CFMEU president Dave Hanna in 2013.

The commission heard last month that invoices based on false variations arising from a Mirvac development project were used to disguise payments for work on Mr Hanna’s house, and also to cover up attendance at union functions, including “fight nights”, as the company looked to dispense with union enterprise bargaining agreements.

Mr Vieusseux denied claims by Mirvac’s former Queensland manager, Adam Moore, who told the commission that Mirvac had a policy of using false invoices to disguise donations to the CFMEU.

Mr Moore told the commission: “We didn’t want to be seen as Mirvac paying for any union events. We would attend approp­riate union events and we would ­ensure that they were always paid by the business as we were representing Mirvac at those events.”

Mirvac representatives attended the union’s Sydney Safety Dinner, Mr Vieusseux said. However, he added that “an out-and-out ­donation, sponsorships, another category of event ... I would consider inappropriate”.

Mirvac earlier denied Mr Moore’s claims in a statement to the Australian Securities ­Exchange.

Mr Vieusseux told the inquiry yesterday he had “concerns about the way in which some of those external contractors were being billed to us or invoiced to us and how we were paying”.

Mr Hanna, a former ALP factional powerbroker, quit the Labor Party and was expelled by the CFMEU following the allegations.

Mr Vieusseux said yesterday he first learned that Mirvac was ­involved in building Mr Hanna’s house in July this year.

Separately, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions confirmed yesterday that two NSW CFMEU organisers would be prosecuted after referrals from the royal commission.

Michael Greenfield and Luke Collier have been charged with ­intimidation of commonwealth officials from building industry regulator Fair Work Building and Construction.

Mr Collier was already facing action for allegedly breaching commonwealth workplace laws after FWBC launched Federal Circuit Court action over an incident at Sydney’s Barangaroo. His matte­r has been listed for mention in a Sydney court in February.

Additional reporting: AAP