New laws proposed to force CFMEU to accept a new administrator
Urgent legislation will be introduced into federal parliament next week, seeking to appoint an independent administrator to take charge of the CFMEU. The embattled union has faced allegations of stand-over tactics and bikie infiltration.
Transcript
00:00Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt says it's needed to clean up the CFMEU after allegations
00:08of criminality and corruption in the construction division of several branches of the CFMEU.
00:14Now we do know that the Fair Work Commission last week went to the Federal Court seeking
00:19to appoint an independent administrator to take over the union.
00:24The Fair Work was seeking to have 270 union officials removed from office and in place,
00:30put in a Victorian barrister.
00:32Now Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt says he wrote to the union's National Secretary
00:37Zach Smith.
00:38The deadline for that response was 5pm yesterday at 5.09pm.
00:43He says he heard back from Zach Smith.
00:46The letter was asking if they would consent to the takeover and Mr Watt says the response
00:52from Mr Smith indicated that consent was only a possibility at this stage.
00:57Now we have reached out to Zach Smith, we're yet to hear back.
01:01In the meantime, this is Murray Watt speaking earlier.
01:05It is absolutely clear from the CFMEU's response that waiting for that application to find
01:11its way through the courts will take far too long, given the seriousness of the issues
01:16that we are dealing with.
01:17And that's why we're moving ahead with legislation to provide me with the opportunity to appoint
01:23an administrator if I decide that's in the public interest.
01:28Now Minister Watt says he wants the support from both the Coalition and the Greens when
01:32this legislation is introduced here in Federal Parliament when politicians return next week.
01:39He says it will be introduced early next week but we're not sure of the exact date.
01:43He says he's in discussions with the Greens and will soon have talks with the Coalition
01:48as well.
01:49Now we know from the Coalition's point of view, they want to see a Senate inquiry into
01:54the CFMEU to further dig into the behaviour or the alleged behaviour that's going on there.
02:01The Government, in response to that, says that it is a political stunt and it won't
02:05be supporting that Senate inquiry.