Victorian ALP leader calls for dissolution of CFMEU construction arm

From Kaitlyn Offer and Rachael Ward in Melbourne

The state premier called for the CFMEU’s construction arm to be expelled from the state Labor Party.

Jacinta Allan is demanding that the ALP national leadership make such a request amid allegations that the union has been infiltrated by members of a biker gang and figures from organised crime.

“What we have seen here over the last few days is not unionism, it is brutal, unacceptable behaviour at its worst,” Ms Allan told reporters on Monday.

“The union itself has acknowledged that it needs to change its behaviour and that until then it should have nothing to do with the Victorian branch of the Labor Party.”

Ms Allan will also call on the Victorian Labor Party to stop accepting political donations from the CFMEU with immediate effect.

The union is referred to Victoria Police and the state’s anti-corruption agency.

The Labour government will tighten anti-biker laws to make it easier for the police and courts to prevent certain people from socialising with each other.

A call is made on the Federal Government to exercise its powers under the Fair Work Act to review and, where appropriate, terminate enterprise agreements on Victorian construction sites to prevent criminal activity.

The state will also conduct an independent inquiry, in consultation with the federal government, to strengthen the powers of Victorian authorities working with construction companies and unions.

Nine has published a series of newspaper and television reports about its investigations into criminal links within the CFMEU’s construction division.

In the wake of the reports, Victoria state union leader John Setka immediately resigned from his post on Friday, citing “false allegations” and “malicious attacks”.

The CFMEU national board has placed the association’s Victorian branch into administration and its national secretary, Zach Smith, said he rejected calls for deregistration.

“We should be careful about denying workers and construction workers their voice in the political process,” he told AAP.

Mr Smith said he did not know how a possible termination of a collective agreement would work in practice.

“We cannot tolerate a situation where workers rely on a collective agreement to protect their pay and working conditions and overnight, through no fault of their own, this protection is taken away from them and they are left with no certainty about their pay and working conditions,” he said.

He added that the union would cooperate with any police investigations and corruption investigations, but that the donation ban was not a priority for him at this time.