The explosive allegations aired at this week's hearings of the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption in Canberra come as an unwelcome shock for a city whose reputation for integrity and the rule of law is a point of some civic pride. On Monday, the commission heard that an organiser of the ACT branch of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union had solicited payments from a single formwork subcontractor of about $135,000 in return for union support to secure work on building projects elsewhere in the territory. On Tuesday, Canberra building project manager Donald McInnes recounted several verbal and physical confrontations involving CFMEU officials, including ACT branch secretary Dean Hall. The commission also heard testimony from a plasterer alleging he had been pressured by the CFMEU to make a $10,000 payment "otherwise trouble will come".
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These allegations remain just that, and the CFMEU has pointed out that the official who solicited the payments no longer works for the union. Indeed, it issued a statement on Monday claiming it did not tolerate corrupt practices and calling for the allegations to be referred to police. However, for a union which has been lauded for its extensive efforts to improve safety standards on ACT building sites these are nonetheless shocking allegations. To make matters worse for itself, the CFMEU has boycotted commission proceedings until Thursday, a petulant response which will help solidify perceptions in some quarters that it regards clearing its name and reputation as being of secondary importance to making clear its displeasure at being under official investigation.
Like the other unions so far scrutinised by the royal commission, the CFMEU maintains its activities are perfectly legal and extend no further than securing the best possible pay and conditions for its members. Yet the many allegations of demands for under-the-table payments, bullying and unlawful actions surrounding the CFMEU's Victorian branch suggest this is an organisation for which the line between the lawful and the illicit is not particularly well defined.
The ACT branch's dismissal of the man who allegedly solicited the payments canvassed on Monday and Tuesday – Halafihi "Fihi" Kivalu – as a rogue operator may be correct. But claims of complete ignorance as to what Mr Kivalu was up to while on CFMEU business strain credibility, the more so for the fact that he was frequently accompanied on site visits by another organiser, former Canberra Raiders front-rower and on-field enforcer John Lomax.
The CFMEU's ability to win the best enterprise bargaining deals for its members would be admirable if not for the fact that, in Victoria at least, the union bargains with a mailed fist. The interrupted concrete pours, the blockades and the demands with menaces are one reason why construction costs in Australia are reportedly among the world's highest. Much as they would have the public believe the royal commission is a politically motivated witch hunt, the picture emerging is that the CFMEU and other unions are not pure of heart themselves.
