Albanese’s answer to the CFMEU rot looks short of the mark

It is 15 months since Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told Australians that the decision to appoint an independent administrator of the CFMEU represented “the strongest possible action”.

Yet in March of this year, our investigative reporter Nick McKenzie spoke exclusively to one of administrator Mark Irving KC’s employees, barrister Geoffrey Watson SC, who raised the alarm over the extent of organised crime’s infiltration of Victoria’s Big Build.

In the months since, there have been repeated reminders of the scale of this problem, from the allegations against construction giant Webuild and its subcontractor Future Form involving work at the new Western Sydney Airport at Badgerys Creek to the accusations of violence and intimidation by union officials outlined in Watson’s July report on the CFMEU’s Queensland branch, which prompted the Crisafulli government to open a commission of inquiry.

Earlier this month, Mark Irving himself wrote an unprecedented letter to gangland identity Mick Gatto warning him away from union employees and premises. “Your business model which relied on developing close personal relationships with CFMEU organisers is now at an end,” Irving declared, striking a confident note.

But the latest reporting by the Herald raises new and disconcerting questions about the administrator’s ability to match such robust words with action. Thursday’s sacking of John Perkovic, appointed to a senior role in the Victorian branch as recently as July, comes off the back of our investigative work and we welcome it.

But how did Irving’s administration end up signing off on the promotion of such an allegedly compromised figure, with known ties to former union leader John Setka, in the first place?

Today McKenzie reveals that, in addition to presenting the administration with our evidence regarding Perkovic a fortnight ago, earlier this month he sent them questions regarding Ash Howe, a delegate for the administration in Victoria before he was promoted to the role of organiser for the NSW administration in August.

Those questions involved accusations that Howe assaulted a union official at a Melbourne cafe a year ago. The administration’s response to our questions was to sack Howe – their own appointee, and to insist it had no prior clue that the assault had occurred.

Coming hard on the heels of other revelations, we have to ask: is Irving’s administration achieving what it needs to, and can it?

In a statement on Friday, Irving said he needed more time before his work should be judged. He also repeated his call for greater assistance from industry and government to help clean up the sector.

This need, so far, has been acknowledged only by the opposition and the crossbench.

Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth declared on Friday that she had complete confidence in the administration before, incorrectly, stating the only reason the latest scandal was known about was because of its work. This is patently incorrect: the administration acted only after McKenzie had contacted it.

As our reporting has demonstrated time and again, malfeasance within the union’s construction arm has the power to affect everything from infrastructure projects to the building of homes.

If bribery and corruption are allowed to fester in these areas, we will all pay the price.

If ministers in Canberra think that it is a case of “set and forget” on this matter, our coverage this weekend alone should prove that they are sorely mistaken. It is past time for the federal government to take further action.

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