Criminal involvement an ‘open secret’ as CFMEU lashed by Labor for alleged bikie links

Labor members are calling for lasting reform of the CFMEU after its Victorian branch was placed into administration following allegations of criminal links.

The state branch was taken over by the union’s national office and will be independently investigated.

Separately, the Victoria Labor government has moved to suspend affiliation with the union and political donations.

Premier Jacinta Allan and Tasmanian Labor leader Dean Winter have also asked the national executive to suspend the state division’s construction arm, which jointly covers both jurisdictions.

Mr Winter instructed the state Labor secretary to stop receiving donations from the union.

One federal Labor MP, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss internal party matters, questioned whether the party should cut ties completely.

Emphasising people’s fears about speaking out publicly against the union, the Labor MP said they also wanted to remain anonymous because they did not “want to wake up next to a horse’s head”.

The ordeal was a distraction and the labour movement was “sick and tired of the CFMEU”, they said.

“About f****** time. They’re not very nice people,” they said.

They accused the national executive of turning a blind eye and raised concerns that CFMEU members could still play a role in Labor processes.

The Victorian and NSW Labor governments have called for implicated officials to be stood down, which CFMEU national secretary Zach Smith cautioned against, saying it would “jump the gun” on investigations.

He also opposed deregistration, saying it could impact workers having a voice in the political process.

But one rank-and-file member, who asked to remain anonymous, said the allegations about criminal links were an open secret and people feared taking on some “pretty powerful” characters.

Questions were also raised about whether disbanding the union would push members into the Australian Workers’ Union or whether a new construction union would spring from any ashes.

Both could lead to a power struggle for influence and control of internal party politics, with each on opposite ends of Labor factions.

The CFMEU, particularly the Victorian construction branch, is militant left-wing while the AWU is aligned with Labor’s right factions.

Federal minister Bill Shorten - a former AWU national secretary and life member - said people from his union had previously complained about “stand-over stuff” when asked about a lack of oversight and why action had not been taken.

“But this bikie stuff, I mean, I don’t know if people have put it in the too hard basket in the past, but there’s an opportunity ... to say, ‘we don’t want criminals in our construction industry’,” he said.

“The national executive ... will be having a pretty long, hard look at all of this and I just think the old status quo is going to be questioned pretty severely.”