The royal commission is going to very interesting
Law enforcement agencies in NSW and Victoria have evidence that CFMEU officials have been given kickbacks, amid revelations that the federal government's building industry watchdog has flagged the possible deregistration of the union in a secret report.
Nigel Hadgkiss' cabinet-in confidence report was sent to the Victorian government last year and sets out recent conduct of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union that could lead to its deregistration.
Fairfax Media can also reveal that the Australian Federal Police has assigned a commander to lead the operations wing of the royal commission on unions.
The AFP commander and two other federal police officers are this week being seconded to the royal commission and will be part of an investigation unit that is likely to be staffed with up to 30 detectives, forensic accountants and lawyers.
Federal Justice Minister Michael Keenan said the scope of the royal commission's investigation was yet to be finalised.
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The evidence of kickbacks involving union officials has been gathered during investigations by several policing agencies into organised crime around the nation, including a NSW murder probe.
The Australian Crime Commission is understood to have recently distributed to other agencies a confidential intelligence assessment identifying kickback schemes involving building companies and union officials in NSW and Victoria
Victoria Police has also recently referred allegations of bribery in the industry to its fraud and extortion squad to be assessed.
The force has also placed at least two construction industry whistleblowers who have been the subject of recent threats onto the police's quick response alert system, which means any future threats are responded to urgently.
“The police have been really good and I'm relieved to be on the list," one of the whistleblowers said. "I've also had security cameras installed to make the family feel better.”
Fairfax Media can also reveal that a small number of senior CFMEU officials are trying to smear the reputations of building industry figures they believe could testify against them in the royal commission.
Two senior CFMEU officials have recently contacted journalists or building companies with false claims about a construction company owner, while another industry figure has been falsely accused of agreeing to testify before the royal commission.
The Victorian branch of the CFMEU was last week asked in writing by one large construction firm to provide evidence to substantiate allegations it is making about a subcontractor.
The possibility of deregistering the CFMEU was flagged last year in a confidential report by the then Victorian government building industry watchdog Nigel Hadgkiss.
Mr Hadgkiss, who late last year was appointed by the Abbott government as the nation's building industry watchdog, said in his report that consideration should be given to deregistering the CFMEU given its repeated breaches of federal workplace laws and findings against it in the Federal Court.
The Napthine government has refused to release the Hadgkiss report, on the basis it could prejudice Supreme Court of Victoria proceedings involving the CFMEU.
The revelation that Mr Hadgkiss flagged deregistering the CFMEU will anger the union, which has repeatedly claimed that the former senior federal police officer is biased and a puppet of the Abbott government.
The union movement has also criticised the Abbott government's decision to call a royal commission, along with its push to boost Mr Hadgkiss' powers, as an attack on workers and an attempt to crush unions.
Mr Hadgkiss declined to comment on his report.
The federal government has the power to deregister a union on the basis of serious breaches of Commonwealth law as determined by federal courts and tribunals. The last union to be deregistered was the CFMEU's predecessor, the Builders' Labourers Federation, in 1986.
Mr Hadgkiss' confidential report also called for the Australian Crime Commission to have more involvement in investigating what he said was the significant involvement of organised crime in the industry.
His report cites several case studies, including an incident in which an outlaw bikie figure and building worker attempted to recover a disputed debt from building firm Hansen Yuncken.
The worker used a Hells Angels boss along with industry “fixer” Mario Amenta, a close associate of gangland boss Mick Gatto, and a senior Victorian CFMEU official in an attempt to recover the debt. The report also examined corruption at Victoria's desalination plant.
Extensive revelations earlier this year by Fairfax Media and the ABC about corruption and organised crime in the building industry led to the removal of three CFMEU officials and contributed to the decision to call a royal commission into the CFMEU and four other unions
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/secret-report-flags-union-ban-20140327-35lva.h...
