Police and Victoria’s anti-corruption watchdog have been called-in to probe a swag of allegations against Australia’s largest building union, the CFMEU. The union crisis has deepened with a national takeover of the Victorian branch amid calls to de-register it and for senior officials to stand down. There is also pressure on the Victorian government to show what it has taken so long to act.
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TVTranscript
00:00The CFMEU proudly declares we built this city, but its methods have cast a pall on the union
00:08movement and put a Premier under pressure.
00:11An expose from Nine Papers in 60 Minutes has pointed the finger at now former Secretary
00:15John Setka, as well as alleged underworld infiltration of the CFMEU, along with bullying
00:20and intimidation, and corruption of multi-billion dollar Victorian government projects.
00:25I am, and all of my colleagues, shocked and horrified.
00:29Anyone subject to criminal allegations should be stood down.
00:32Worst of all, it's a betrayal of Australian trade unionists.
00:36An emergency union meeting this morning put the Victorian branch under federal control.
00:40It will conduct its own probe, but will resist any efforts to deregister the union.
00:45Let's be clear about it, that would be an absolute disaster for workers all across this
00:51country.
00:52We do, however, need external government intervention to regulate our affairs.
00:56As a movement, we are capable of responding to allegations of this nature ourselves.
01:00The CFMEU needs to be deregistered, gone, finished, start again.
01:06CFMEU members are building billions of dollars of major government projects, but this isn't
01:11the first time concerns about union behaviour has been raised.
01:15Complaints were sent to the Victorian government last year, while other union officials have
01:19been probed for taking kickbacks.
01:21I have zero tolerance for this sort of behaviour, and this is a rotten culture that must be
01:27pulled out by its roots.
01:29Labor leaders are trying to suspend the union's affiliation in Victoria, Tasmania and South
01:33Australia.
01:34The Victorian Premier wants federal help too, to review any dodgy workplace deals struck
01:39with the union.
01:40I want those agreements terminated.
01:42Labor wants to talk tough and distance itself from the CFMEU and criminality in the construction
01:47sector.
01:48Concerns about this issue have been rife for years, but it begs the question why government
01:52and authorities haven't been able to tackle it sooner.