Federal Government To Back Appointment Of Independent Administrator For CFMEU

Work Relations Minister Tony Burke announced that the federal government will support Murray Furlong, general manager of Fair Work Commission, in appointing independent administrators for CFMEU, while asking the federal police to probe the corruption allegations against Australia's largest trade union.

A Nine network investigation had exposed corruption in the Victorian branch of CFMEU and its links with organized criminal gangs, last weekend. Just before the report was telecast, John Setka, who was branch secretary in Victoria for 12 years, had stepped down.

Burke said the government will not deregister the union, but will implement legislation if the union opposed the appointment of independent administrators, ABC News reported.

"If we simply went down the deregistration path, we would have an organization still capable of bargaining and doing the entire business model that we have been seeing reported over recent days with no layer of regulation or additional oversight that applies to registered organizations," Burke said.

Meanwhile, Furlong is seeking advice on applying to the federal court regarding the appointment of an independent administrator, who will be in charge of funding decisions and removing the corrupt elements from the union.

On Wednesday, Australia Council of Trade Union's secretary Sally McManus announced that CFMEU's construction and general division will be suspended till the union proves it is clean and free of criminal elements.

As the federal government and Labor came under pressure to reveal what they knew about CFMEU's links with criminal gangs, Burke said he was not briefed about the union's links.

He added that the probe will not be limited to the Victorian branch and that the government will support Furlong's decision "with respect to any division, any part of the construction division of the CFMEU," The Guardian reported.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the government of going weak against the allegations.