The union was an easy villain. It was right for Irving to be appointed and for the old and corrupted CFMEU leadership regime to be turfed out, replaced with highly respected union organisers like Michael Crosby.
The problem is that the gangsters, bikies and rotten bosses have suffered no real penalty to date, save for the public opprobrium attached to this masthead’s ongoing reporting.
It is a matter of fact, not conjecture, that bikies remain on Victoria’s Big Build projects. There are suspected shonks on major NSW Labor government projects.
It is also clear Queensland Premier David Crisafulli’s commission of inquiry into the CFMEU is as much about politics as it is about union misbehaviour.
In already declaring the CFMEU persona non grata and appointing a union-busting barrister to head his commission – rather than someone apolitical in the vein of the famed Tony Fitzgerald – Crisafulli is repeating the folly of Tony Abbott’s Dyson Heydon commission into trade unions.
Loading
It did some good work exposing corruption, but because it was politicised with Abbott’s anti-union zealotry and Heydon’s political missteps, its findings were too easily dismissed.
And yet, if state and federal Labor don’t do more to combat the organised crime, thuggery and corruption in the building sector, Crisafulli’s commission may be the industry’s last hope.
It’s either that or Geoffrey Watson, SC, the indefatigable chief investigator for the CFMEU administrator.
After a year of inaction, and only after repeated media pressure, did Victoria Police reluctantly direct nine or so detectives (who by all accounts include gun investigators) to probe crime in the sector. That is overdue but very welcome. It still hasn’t led to any substantial criminal charges.
In contrast, the NSW and Queensland police are nowhere to be seen, while the federal police has just three or so veteran detectives on the job.
This trio of federal agents has so far shown up every agency in the country, launching raids and engaging in high-profile industry disruption. But it seems clear they have nowhere near the firepower needed.
It is even clearer that given the intense fear that pervades the industry and stops participants giving police the sworn statements needed for prosecutions, Irving’s call for a more extraordinary intervention must be heeded.
So why don’t state and federal Labor governments do more? In Victoria, Labor fears skeletons on the multi-billion dollar Big Build.
Any proper inquiry would reveal who in power knew what and when about how bikies and other crooks infiltrated major projects.
Loading
As the leader of a newer government, Chris Minns in NSW doesn’t have the quite same problem, but he will have if he chooses inaction over accountability.
Ultimately, given the lawlessness, fear and violence in the construction sector is a national problem, Albanese could take charge. Here is a suggestion: call a national inquiry into organised and financial crime in the building industry.
It should be truly indifferent to whether the crooks are wearing CFMEU hoodies or tailored suits. Its leader must be apolitical.
Watson has already shown he has the guts to do the job and has no problem torching the union or going after bosses.
In acting boldly, Albanese would not only steal Crisafulli’s thunder, but – much more importantly – clean up a sector in desperate need of change.
We should no longer accept that getting your house firebombed is simply the cost of operating in a sector that is one of the biggest drivers of our economy.
Get a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform your own. Sign up for our Opinion newsletter.
