A bill to force the CFMEU into administration has passed in the Senate after gaining support from the Coalition.
The legislation will let the government appoint an administrator that would have broad authority over the organisation and anyone that obstructs investigations could face fines or jail time.
The agreement was reached on Monday after amendments to the bill requested by the Coalition were implemented. This included minimum three year terms for administration and a temporary ban on political donations by the union.
Shadow workplace relations minister Michaela Cash described the legislation as the “strongest action” by any Australian government against a union or employer.
“Yes, we have strengthened the bill,” she said. “Yes, it is a better bill as a result of the Coalition securing these amendments. However, stakeholders and the Coalition have made it very, very clear, this is but the first step in the process.”
The Age reported allegations of significant corruption and criminal ties in the CFMEU, but the union has resisted demands from government to go into administration.
The CFMEU national secretary Zach Smith has stressed that the union has taken appropriate steps to respond to allegations that remain untested in court. This included standing down members pending investigation. He said the law would undermine the rights of union members.
“The deal cut by Labor and the coalition is as shameful as it is unnecessary — an act of political expediency at the expense of fundamental tenets of Australian democracy and our legal system”, he said.
Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt told ABC News Breakfast on Tuesday that efforts to address corruption in the CFMEU were not an attack on workers.
“Construction workers deserve to have a strong and effective union, but it’s got to be a clean union”, he said.
Allegations of corruption and criminal links in the CFMEU first emerged in July, shortly followed by the resignation of CFMEU Victorian branch boss John Setka.
The bill to appoint an administrator is expected to pass in the government controlled lower house of parliament today.
Photo: CFMEU under the southern cross by Michael Coghlan is available HERE and is used under a Creative Commons Licence. This image has not been modified.
