ACT Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union secretary, Dean Hall, said in a witness statement he had not known of allegations against former organiser, Halafihi Kivalu, until they came out in hearings in Canberra in July.

He said Mr Kivalu, whose performance as the union's lead organiser had been slipping, was made redundant last November. The departure had been described as a resignation to allow the long-term CFMEU employee to save face.

In July, Mr Kivalu was grilled before the Royal Commission over a $32,267 redundancy payment from the union after he resigned. He said he had both resigned as an organiser for personal reasons, and been made redundant.

Mr Hall was also questioned over an article about alleged underpayments to workers by MPR Scaffolding that appeared in The Canberra Times on July 26.

MPR's director, Petar Josifoski, said the union had timed its case to discredit him before he gave evidence at the Royal Commission.

Mr Hall said: "No, that wasn't the timeline, it was just that that's how it played out".

The commission was shown a CFMEU organisers' meeting record, dated July 7, 2015, which stated: "Media Release, Smear campaign for next three to four weeks, Builtt, Claw, Advance Plumbing, MPR Scaffold, Gungahlin Concrete, Capital Hydraulics, Leamus (sic)."

Counsel assisting the Royal Commission, Jeremy Stoljar said: "Isn't it the case Mr Josifoski only found out about it [the claim] when a [Canberra Times] journalist rang him up?"

Mr Hall said: "I've got no idea".

Mr Hall said an independent accountant was called in by the union to review Mr Kivalu's termination in July and all appropriate tax and interest payments had now been made.

"It was not a legitimate redundancy," he said. "I had gone to "Fihi" and told him I was making the lead organiser's position redundant as his performance was waning.

"Mr Kivalu was, maybe because of his heritage, very concerned about perception within his family and in the community and he asked me to let him say that he resigned instead of me making him redundant. It was a save-face issue and, in hindsight, it was not very smart for me to do, and I won't ever do it again."

Counsel assisting the commission, Jeremy Stoljar, put it to Mr Hall many CFMEU staff had testified they knew of rumours and allegations about Mr Kivalu months, and even up to a year, before the ex-employee admitted accepting inappropriate payments of $100,000. Mr Stoljar said Mr Hall should have known as well.

Mr Hall said the first he knew of the allegations was in July this year. When they came to light he asked branch assistant secretary, Jason O'Mara, John Lomax and the other organisers if they had known anything before.

"They said no," Mr Hall said. "I was disappointed [they didn't tell me what they knew when I asked them a direct question]."

Mr Stoljar asked Mr Hall what he had done about that.

Mr Hall said: "I asked them why they hadn't told me. They told me they didn't know why they hadn't told me. I told them I was quite upset they didn't tell me".

He did not ask Mr Kivalu, who was then a member of the ACT CFMEU's management committee, about allegations of impropriety made by a contractor, Elias Taleb, at a meeting on June 22.

Mr Taleb previously testified he made payments to Mr Kivalu on the understanding Mr Kivalu would help him get contracts.

Mr Stoljar asked Mr Hall why he had not taken Mr Taleb's claim, that Mr Kivalu was demanding payments for debts, to the police.

Mr Hall said: "I suppose I could have".

He said he had told Mr Taleb to go to the police however.