Union chief’s vile comment about the Prime Minister – as CFMEU warns Albo has ‘opened the Gates of Hell’

A top union boss has accused Anthony Albanese of soiling himself after the prime minister confirmed another CFMEU branch would be placed into administration. 

The Albanese government will legislate to ensure an external administrator can be appointed to overhaul the Construction Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) after a string of bombshell allegations this week.

The Victorian arm of the CFMEU has already been placed into administration and boss John Setka has resigned, with NSW set to follow suit.

When Mr Albanese was told of Mr Setka’s resignation he replied ‘good’. He previously removed Mr Setka from the ALP in 2019 while Opposition leader.

The PM confirmed in Brisbane on Wednesday that Queensland’s CFMEU would also be put under administration, sparking a fiery press release from secretary Michael Ravbar claiming Labor and Mr Albanese were panicking over the allegations. 

‘The Albanese Labor Government has opened the gates of hell for tens of thousands of workers as he scrambles to shield the big end of town and his Labor mates from scrutiny about links to the criminal underworld,’ the statement said.

‘By appointing unelected administrators to run the CFMEU, Albanese is attempting to strip thousands of building and construction workers of effective representation when they need it most.

‘Albanese has panicked and soiled himself over some unproven allegations in the media. Workers can see that Albo has lost control and the country is being run by buffoon breakfast show hosts and talkback radio shock jocks.

‘I will defend the integrity of the CFMEU every day of the week. If Albanese or any other politician want to properly investigate criminality, they should start at the top, not the bottom.’

The general manager of the Fair Work Commission will investigate after a series of allegations into the construction arm of the union have been made public since the weekend.

The allegations include that criminal underworld figures and bikies were acting as delegates on behalf of the CFMEU and kickbacks were sought and taken by some members in exchange for beneficial treatment on CFMEU controlled sites – many of which are taxpayer funded project. 

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke told reporters on Wednesday: ‘I do believe these actions are best taken by the regulator but any action to appoint an administrator will be supported by me as minister’.

Mr Burke also said he had asked the Fair Work Ombudsman to undertake a targeted review of all enterprise agreements made by the Victorian branch of the construction division of the CFMEU that apply to Victorian big build projects.

‘I stress on this, we’re seeking information on coercive behaviour – the government has no intention of taking any action which would put at risk the terms and conditions of employment of the workers who are covered by those agreements,’ Mr Burke said.

‘This is not their fault.’

Mr Burke said had been unaware of the latest allegation before they were made public.

‘The organised crime issue – it was published as an exclusive, that’s because this was new information.’

Mr Burke dismissed deregistering the CFMEU, saying it was no longer the ‘toughest action’ a government could take against a union.

The Fair Work Act also allows deregistered entities to act as a ‘red union,’ which allows them to bargain on behalf of workers, which would negate some of the reason for registration.

‘That capacity was not around when the Builders Labourers Federation was deregistered (by former Labor prime minister Bob Hawke),’ Mr Burke said.

‘If we simply went down the deregistration path, we would have an organisation still capable of bargaining and doing the entire business model we’ve been seeing reported over recent days with no layer of regulation or additional oversight that applies to registered organisations.’

Mr Albanese said the government had acted ‘swiftly’ and decisively to ensure the administrators for the Victorian, NSW and Queensland branches of the CFMEU.

‘That’s appropriate. We’re not waiting. We’ve been decisive,’ Mr Albanese told reporters in Brisbane.’