CFMEU boss keeps his job as union plunged into administration
The Coalition is demanding to know why the government has kept on CFMEU national secretary Zach Smith, who defended John Setka and led the union’s opposition to a federal takeover, after Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus tipped the union into administration.
CFMEU administrator Mark Irving, KC, vowed to root out corruption in his first message to members on Friday, after the government ousted hundreds of the union’s leaders including NSW chief Darren Greenfield and ex-Victorian chief John Setka’s protege Derek Christopher, but kept the national secretary, who talks of challenging the administration in the courts.
CFMEU national secretary Zach Smith (right), who will keep his job, with his lawyer Josh Bornstein. Credit: Eamon Gallagher
Coalition industrial relations spokeswoman Michaelia Cash said the government should explain why it let Smith stay in his job given “how difficult it will be to change the national culture of an organisation if the previous head of it is still there”.
It follows reports in The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, other Nine mastheads and 60 Minutes that aired allegations of corruption, coercion and bikie infiltration within the union that effectively sets the rules for Australia’s construction sector.
Surviving officials such as Smith, Western Australian head Mick Buchan and lead ACT official Michael Hiscox will be forced to cooperate with the administrator, but those leaving will have to surrender work phones, credit cards, laptops and cars to Irving.
Irving assured union members of his labour credentials on Friday, writing in a letter seen by this masthead that he had been a member of the Australian Services Union for more than 30 years.
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“I firstly want to say that the CFMEU’s record of successful struggle to keep workers safe is unequalled in Australia, and you are justly proud of the union’s history of protecting and improving wages and conditions,” Irving wrote. “The administration will come and go, but the work of the CFMEU must endure.”
But he promised to address corruption, fraud and organised crime in the industry.
“I acknowledge that the coming period will not be easy, because it is also my job to ensure that the criminal elements that have infiltrated some parts of the union and the industry be rooted out,” Irving wrote.
He said some officials would be removed but that Smith would retain his position, without explaining why.
No allegations of wrongdoing have been made against Smith, who was contacted for comment. As secretary, Smith commissioned a barrister to investigate the allegations and pushed out bikie-linked delegates.
After the allegations were raised in July, Smith said the union was “more than capable of dealing with allegations in their own ranks and responding appropriately”.
And he praised Setka as someone who had “integrity” and “credibility” after he resigned.
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Irving’s appointment begins immediately but could be challenged by the union in the courts, with several other allied unions, including the Electrical Trades Union and Maritime Union, declaring they are likely to donate to the challenge. They view the government’s move as lacking due process and punishing the entire CFMEU for allegations against a few.
Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt, who has the formal power to put the union into administration under laws passed by parliament this week, delegated that decision to Dreyfus. That avoids the perception of bias because Dreyfus has not been publicly criticising the union, unlike Watt.
On Wednesday, Watt said the legislation to force the union into administration had been designed “to be as robust as possible to withstand any future legal challenges”.
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