CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY – AUSTRALIA

Former CFMEU leaders set to plead guilty

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 16-Apr-25

The lawyer representing the CFMEU’s former NSW state secretary Darren Greenfield and his son Michael has indicated that the pair may plead guilty to some of the charges they face, while other charges may be withdrawn. However, the lawyer has declined to comment on whether the Greenfields will plead guilty to bribery charges. They were initially charged with accepting bribes from a construction firm in 2021. Meanwhile, nearly 92 per cent of the CFMEU’s manufacturing division have voted in favour of demerging and establishing the Timber, Furnishing & Textiles Union.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION

Cbus union payments in the spotlight

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 4-Dec-24

Deloitte has made 26 recommendations following its independent review of payments made by construction industry superannuation fund Cbus to the CFMEU. A spokesman for Cbus has indicated that it will accept ‘in principle’ all of the recommendations in Deloitte’s report, and it will work with the accounting firm to develop an action plan to implement each of the recommendations. Amongst other things, Deloitte concluded that Cbus lacked appropriate procedures to ensure that payments to the union were in accordance with its requirement to act in the best financial interest of members.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING UNIONS’ SUPERANNUATION FUND, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED

Fair work launches 42 probes into CFMEU coercion, corruption

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Original article by Olivia Ireland, David Crowe
The Age – Page: Online : 16-Oct-24

The CFMEU’s construction division is under further scrutiny following the federal government’s recent move to place it in administration. The Fair Work Ombudsman has advised that it has commenced another 42 investigations into alleged illegal conduct within the construction division. The FWO has acted in response to a referral from the government after media reports exposed corruption within the CFMEU and its links to outlaw motorcycle gangs. Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt says the FWO’s investigations demonstrate that there has been progress in "cleaning up" the construction industry.

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CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS

Watt seeks CFMEU Please explain

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 11-Oct-24

Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt will ask CFMEU administrator Mark Irving why he has given Joel Shackleton a job in the union’s Victorian branch. A CFMEU organiser, Shackleton has been charged with threats to kill a labour hire company owner, and is due to face court over the charges on 22 November. Employers and the Opposition contend that Shackleton should be stood down, claiming that Irvine’s decision to let him keep working with the CFMEU does not send a good message at a time when the federal government is seeking to clean up the construction sector.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS

Bosses demand clause ban on CFMEU

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 8-Oct-24

The CEOs of four construction-related employers’ groups have joined forces to urge the federal government to remove certain clauses from enterprise agreements. The clauses in question includes ones that give the CFMEU a right of veto over the use of subcontractors and require subcontractors to be paid the same as those engaged by the head contractor. Amongst other things, the letter to Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt calls on the government to ban the Fair Work Commission from approving any enterprise agreements that include the clauses.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS

CFMEU scandal once in a generation chance

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 18-Sep-24

The federal government will reconvene its National Construction Industry Forum in October. Amongst other things, members of the forum will be asked to consider measures aimed at addressing corruption and misconduct in the building and construction industry. Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt says a "major reset" is needed in the nation’s construction industry, and the scandal that has embroiled the CFMEU is a "once-in-a-generation" opportunity to do so. Meanwhile, the CFMEU’s administrator Mark Irving will use his coercive powers to direct Geoffrey Watson SC to continue with his investigation into corruption within the union’s Victorian branch.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, NATIONAL CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY FORUM, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS

Whistleblower’s fresh claims on CFMEU’s missing $30m

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 5 : 17-Sep-24

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is continuing to attract scrutiny over revelations that a CFMEU whistleblower had warned him in 2014 that the union had links to organised crime. Shadow employment minister Michaelia Cash has urged Albanese to disclose what action he had taken in response to the claims made by former CFMEU official Andrew Quirk a decade ago. Cash adds that Albanese should explain why Labor continued to accept donations from the CFMEU despite being aware of its criminal connections. It has also emerged that Quirk and a fellow whistleblower had raised concerns about the whereabouts of $30m from the sale of the CFMEU’s headquarters in NSW.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

CFMEU $3m transfer stinks to high heaven

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 13-Sep-24

The CFMEU is under renewed scrutiny following revelations that its NSW branch transferred $3.15m of members’ funds to a Sydney law firm that was representing former state secretary Darren Greenfield and his son. Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt has credited the federal government’s "strong action" in appointing an administrator to the CFMEU for exposing the funds transfer, which occured just two days after Labor revealed plans to force the union’s construction divisions into administration. He says it shows that many of the CFMEU’s former leaders had acted in their own interests, rather than the interests of the union’s members.

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CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS

Sacked CFMEU leaders remain in ranks of Victorian ALP

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Original article by Damon Johnston, Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 4-Sep-24

The militant CFMEU is under renewed scrutiny following revelations that about 300 of its members are also ‘grassroots’ members of the Labor Party in Victoria. They include four CFMEU officials who were sacked after the federal government recently legislated to appoint an administrator to its construction division. One of the sacked officials, Joe Myles, is also a member of Victorian Labor’s public office selection committee, which plays a key role in selecting state and federal candidates at elections.

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CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Labor stares down furious CFMEU’s court challenge

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 4-Sep-24

The CFMEU’s former national president Jade Ingham says legislation to appoint an administrator to its construction division is "unconstitutional and undemocratic". He has launched a legal challenge to the legislation in the High Court, contending that the laws could potentially be used to target any organisation that "gets off-side" of the federal government. Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have stated that the federal government had expected a legal challenge and has prepared for it.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET