Construction companies’ dirty dealings with bikies and underworld identities | 60 Minutes Australia

coming up on 60 Minutes John SE is pursuing his own personal Vendetta inside a web of power fear and greet the mates the cronies the bikes it's easy cash a major investigation we know we are we can get to you revealing the Menace of Australia's most militant you've got stand over going on extortion and out of control Union and nobody's doing anything about it that's next on 60 Minutes as a boss of the militant cfmeu for 12 years John Seda was as tough and fear a union leader as this country has ever seen in that time he made plenty of noise but late on Friday afternoon with barely a whimper he suddenly quit what he didn't mention in his resignation statement though was his decision to stand down came after we sent him a list of detailed questions he wouldn't answer we wanted him to explain why the construction branch of the cfmeu has been infiltrated by Underworld figures and Outlaw motorcycle gang members what John sedka did say was he hoped his departure would end further scrutiny of his Union well as you'll see tonight it doesn't and a warning this story contains Co language it's early on a Melbourne morning and preparations are being finalized for an undercover operation many months in the making we've been told if you want to win a building contract in Victoria on any major cfmeu controlled site it helps to pay a kickback to the union we want to see if there's any truth to the claim so we've set up a meeting between an undercover operative and a self-styled union fixer to see what it takes to secure an Enterprise bargaining agreement on workers paying conditions a crucial step if you want access to a cfmeu run construction site we've recreated the scene but the audio is real I will take this to them they're going to ask me two questions sure one why am I helping you okay and two they want to eat what we discovered is not only shocking but evidence of blatant corruption there's a fee to get the EA y I think the upfront fee is cash but all you going to do I told you tell the boys make sure they're okay and that's it that's business and everybody [Applause] else there is undoubtedly plenty of good in what the cfu's construction Wing has done for workers across the country country 20% [ __ ] pay rise there's not enough Ford Rangers in the [ __ ] country but what we'll show you tonight is the Union's dark underbelly what message was that sending you speak out against us we know where you are we can get to you the infiltration by organized crime and biky gangs it's about the mates the cronies the bikes yeah look after your mates look after yourself from violent threats and stand over tactics I [ __ ] take your soul and I'll rip your [ __ ] head off two biky figures working as Union endorsed delegates and fixers well you're not looking at a steering committee at a kindergarten eight a once proud Union that defends the rights of workers on the take and in bed with criminals it's rotten to the core you've got standover going on you extortion going on contracts being awarded that shouldn't be awarded honest people being pushed out of the industry it's a terrible State of Affairs and nobody's doing anything about it to understand how things have gotten so bad you need to start with John sea who was until Friday Australia's most militant Union Leader sea relished his role as a hard man and a champion of workers rights and his uncompromised iing style delivered Hefty pay Rises and better conditions for his 35,000 members I'm not going to let him sweep this under the carpet but over his 12 years at the helm the cfmeu became the setus circus all you're good at is calling the coppers and acting like a [ __ ] dog that's all you're good at the most reasonable people around reckon you're a [ __ ] dog his was a reign of threatening and self-serving behavior that many believed crossed the line I think his public Persona pretty much says everything he's you know big and loud and Brash and very capable of holding the attention of many and very scary to many as well Mark nay is well versed in the world of construction and its links to organized crime in 2014 the former federal police assistant commissioner was the most senior investigator at the Hayden Royal commission which was called by the then Abbott government to investigate corruption in unions he's never spoken publicly about his work until now what did you find as Royal commission investigations director in terms of the cfu in Victoria New South Wales and elsewhere and organized crime there were quite a few things that were found in regards to inappropriate behavior extortion and standing over uh both members within the cfmeu but also um businesses both small and large unfortunately the uh Royal commission was a moment in time life has continued on for the cfmeu and the building and construction union and many of the things have returned to normal if not got worse got worse got worse what's going on in the cfmeu is so that other unionists have had enough you're sticking your head up on National Television to call out bad behavior do you fear blowback I've had uh blowback in recent years from them anyway so I'm I'm expecting more of the same Leo kumus is boss of the cfmeu manufacturing division he's one of many in the labor movement who's deeply concerned about the Union SE is built but one of the few prepared to speak publicly about it used to be M with s that's right prior to about 2018 I think the friendship was a very good one I always found John friendly generous um and I enjoyed our friendship what changed with John it's hard to say why things changed but he increasingly became aggressive abusive and I think wanted to use our personal friendship against my union which I was never going to do he wanted effectively to take over your union to increase his power well he definitely wanted to to start that process that's how I saw it and uh after attempts to fend him off I just have to tell him enough's enough we interviewed Leo just days before set's bombshell resignation when he wanted to tell us about a campaign of bullying and intimidation of his members by elements of the cfu's construction week Leo says it's become so bad the manufacturing division has moved to break away from the broader Union entirely our members deserve better they don't deserve to be linked to such an organization and we want to be able to give them a say in the future of their Union there are many examples in recent years where manufacturing division members have been attacked intimidated harassed and bullied simply because they happen to hold a manufacturing Division Union ticket this is just crazy you're saying they're being bullied stood either intimidated by by construction officials and unelected delegates simply because they hold a manufacturing division ticket and they've been sat in sheds until they swap over to the construction union this is happening to this day why are they doing this we'd argue they're doing it because John John SE is pursuing his own personal Vendetta against our Union our officials and our [Music] leadership a sign of just how toxic things had become came 2 months ago on a chilly Melbourne evening a mysterious visitor arrived at Leo's Family Home and left a calling card of sorts in the driveway before Slipping Into the Night the next morning Leo found it I see down the driveway some sort of um parcel or package or or object as I got closer I saw that it was a a suitcase type uh object with uh some words uh written on the top what were those words the words were Leo the dog Leo the dog yeah what message was that sending well I think the message is quite clear and that was you speak out against us we know where you are uh we can get to you we know where you live y Leo knows the threat came directly from the cfme because the person who left the suitcase was caught in the act by CCTV so what are we seeing here this is the family driveway and uh the camera footage it's a fleeting moment you can see for yourself in this extraordinary clip and there he is right there yep and there goes the bag there goes the bag in the middle of the driveway and he scurries off if you think the figure is recognizable you'd be right what does that footage show at approximately 8:10 p.m. on Tuesday the 21st of May John sea came into the driveway with a suitcase and uh placed it in the driveway so it was John that did it John took it himself John S himself the leader of the largest construction branch in the country what does it say that John S himself is prepared to personally carry out threats such as this I think what it says is that John S and his Union are just out of control if they think that they can just rock up to another officials house after dark and do that sort of thing I just think it shows that it's just out of control while it's easy to believe John se's resignation will clean up the Union's dirty business as you'll see the cfu's problems go much deeper than just one man I can stop anyone doing in and I say that respectfully I don't want to be a smarty we can cause you grief I know you've got enough grief in your life already former cfmeu construction boss John sedka wasn't afraid to take on anyone he saw as an enemy but he also had powerful friends in his corner and there was one person he was particularly close to his good mate mg what sort of of reputation does mg have a hard man solid man he's a big person U physically when he speaks people listen former detective inspector Ken Ashworth has led investigations into organized crime the state and federal police I describe him as a colorful identity in Melbourne circles but for many years and many decades His Image was that associated with organized crime criminals Italian mafia in this state but most of those people he did associate with the murdered are no longer with us gate and s's close Bond was evident in leaked texts between the two men in 2019 thanks John for publicly defending our friendship I do love you without you the union is gone remember today's news tomorrow's toilet paper best wishes your friend mg a day later Sitka texted ghetto thanks brother I really appreciate the support and I'll never forget it [ __ ] these prim and proper people who've never done it hard in their whole lives and should probably look up in the dictionary what mik chip means despite never being convicted of a serious crime gatau underworld ties are legendary although in recent years he's presented himself as a much mellowed businessman and grandfather and an expert in industrial arbitration and mediation he said is I'm just a clean businessman who handles building Blues between companies and their union nothing wrong with that is he right uh I think it's a little bit more than that I mean mix's reputation um for him entering a room would put a shiver up the spine of um anybody who knew of his reputation so um you know he brought fear into the room former assistant commissioner of the Australian federal police Mark nay investigated underworld links in his work for the Hayden Royal commission did Mick G come up on the union Royal commission's radar he did um you know from time to time and you know I don't think it's any secret that Mi seen is a fixer in industrial disputes and he certainly came under the radar engaging a negotiator with a reputation as formidable as that of MC GTO it's easy to see how construction industry disagreements can be quickly resolved it's r to get a behind the scenes glimpse of a building industry dispute but we've obtained audio of a conversation between m g and a developer it's revealing listening gateau was acting for a builder who claimed he was owed money we just want to sit down have a chat and find a common denominator if you're interested if you're not interested we'll go away and just whatever happens happen G's request for a meeting came with a warning I can stop anyone doing and I say that respectfully I don't want to be a smarty we can cause you grief I know you've got enough grief in your life already M GTO tells a developer architect we can cause you grief we can stop anyone doing anything what do you take those words to me uh that would be a vile threat that they can interrupt their business G says when you ask him I didn't mean anything nefarious no of course he'd say that he's not going to let to it but that's the inference that's inferred we can cause you grief it's it's pretty clear absolutely gateau has declined an on camera interview but when I called him last year to ask about his dealings with the developer and the union he told me about his mates in the cfmeu I've got friends here I have and they they support me if things are done the right way otherwise uh you know they do things way if you do want to run the story whatever you do whatever you like but print the truth theuth got no issue with you you print the truth I've got a problem with you if I ever see I'll deal with you you know very nice Mick well I mean you know I'll probably spit at you or something you know also looming large in Victoria's construction industry is another Underworld identity the man in the orange hard hat was once Gate's young leftenant his name is faruko or Orman Orman was convicted of a Gangland murder in [Music] 2009 was freed from Geral when his conviction was quashed in 2019 after it was discovered his Barrister Nicola goo was a police Informer following his release he became involved with nine construction companies several of which secured prized Enterprise bargaining agreements from the cfmeu in a conversation with an undercover operative a well-connected Insider revealed his frustration at orman's rapid rise in the construction industry everyone is coming in the Union's letting them come back in through the back door get out of jail come over with us no [ __ ] idea about the industry is it surprising to you that faru Orman having spent a number of years in jail no known construction industry background can set up and prosper so quickly in the construction industry it's not surprising because the construction industry has riddled with organized crime um identities it's well known and being connected with them that's his his in straight [Music] away there is another lucrative area of the construction industry that's R for the picking if the union has your back indigenous labor hire governments require projects they finance to employ a certain proportion of indigenous workers and there are higher companies that specialize in placing them it's a well-meaning scheme funded by the taxpayer as Mark nay explains it's about getting young indigenous people into the workforce and giving them some skills um but it also comes with subsidies so like any subsidized activity there's a guaranteed income stream for the business to engage Aboriginal people in the workplace and like any government funded activity there's money to be made as part of his Empire MC ghetto has an interest in an indigenous employment labor High company Faro Orman does too documents we've obtained show his company ZK civil infrastructure was granted a valuable indigenous labor hire agreement by the cfmeu why do people associated with the underworld M Gate's close associate faroo Orman start indigenous construction businesses I could only guess as to um why they've gone down that path one is it could be incredibly altruistic in terms of taking on what is a really good and important schalee or at the other end it's because it's easy cash easy cash yeah you'd have to be cynical though wouldn't you m g Australian Italian figure linked to the underworld far Gman of Turkish Heritage linked to the underworld neither of them have anything to do with the indigenous community of note both trying to make money through indigenous construction labor high and work well I I'd love to think that it's altruistic but um you know based on your proposition and the allegations that exist in regards to those individuals You' have to think that they're taking advantage of the system in Farooq orman's case his commitment to the indigenous cause was fleeting curiously only a day after he secured his company the prized Union agreement he transferred his stake in it why should anyone care that colorful underworld link characters are getting significant backup from the union getting pushed onto work getting supported across Australia well I have no problem with people getting a job what I do have um concerns about is that they're getting the jobs for the wrong reasons because they are part of the gang they're part of the crew which is highly problematic because it excludes a whole bunch of other businesses out there but for the fact that they don't have somebody who has got serious connections U running it coming up Builders bikes and bad deals it's tightly out of control and it's all paid for by you and me the Victorian labor government is proud of what it calls the big build the name it's given to an ambitious raft of Road and rail projects across the state what it won't be happy about is this grainy Vision that shows a shooting outside a Rebels byy Clubhouse in Melbourne's West last year an outbreak of biky Bloodshed with a surprising connection to Victoria's big build and the cfmeu the identity of the biky who was shot was only uncovered after he arrived at hospital he stood by the underworld Code of Silence and refused to talk to police but when the anti- biky task force checked the car used to Ferry the bleeding biky to Medical Care they discovered it in fact belonged to a Victorian government Mega project the biky was Joel lit a cfmeu health and safety representative working on a state government Rail Project he was found by police to have used his work car for Outlaw biky gang business a construction industry Insider with significant knowledge of Union workings taught us more he was the union rep on 200k plus and a car no one gives a [ __ ] cuz it's all paid for by the government at the end of the day when he started bluing with bikes on site the contractor discovered he was a biky who'd been locked up in Queensland the cops only clued on when L it was shot and used his work car to get to hospital they impounded the car and traced where it had been after hours it's totally out of control and it's all paid for by you and me if it was just one Outlaw biky on a state government run project you might wave it off but what we found is that bikes and their Associates are thriving in Australia's construction industry thanks to the cfmeu I think they're given those jobs because of who they are that they have a fear and a reputation associated with them and the people won't mess with them and if they say something it will be done you're saying they're getting the job is that Union delegate because they're linked to the bis yes because they can get things done they have the influence Ken Ashworth the former head of the piranha task force on organized crime says ultimately it's a cost we all bear why should the public care about all this because it's a cancer that spreads and I've seen it spread in my time where there's no governing body they're not being looked at uh they flourish in the dark and just keep spreading and spreading and we all pay for it the costs of building and construction the taxpayer the government jobs it is all paid for by the taxpayer being a union delegate is a privileged and Powerful position because you can earn north of $200,000 a year to carry out the Union's wishes and influence which subcontractor wins [Music] work this is cfmeu delegate Tyrone Bell with his Union mates on his way to a cfmeu meeting and this is Bell with his biky brothers Bell has no serious convictions and there's no suggestion he's a criminal but for years he was the president of the Mongols Outlaw biky gangs Eastside chapter when we spoke to him this week though he claimed he'd switched his Allegiance from the Mongols to the union he's also so involved in a building company called solid seal owned by his wife which the cfmeu pushes onto building sites in Victoria to have the union backing his personal Building Company why would that be valuable to someone like a tyan bell well take for example the big build that goes on here in in Victoria they're going to do some building or construction somewhere contract will go out the usual people will apply there'll be pressure from within that uh other companies won't get a look in you got to be with the cfmeu got to be signed up with the EBA the these are our preferred companies and contractors so they get pushed up and they'll get the job so Tyrone Bell's company's getting pushed by the cfmu he stands to do pretty well absolutely why can't the big Builder say I don't want to use that company for fear of repercussions Tyrone Bell seen here on the left also helps sort out building issues for at least one company and he appears to have aligned himself with feared Hell's Angels stand Overman Sam uran known in the Underworld as Sammy The Turk uran is a building industry fixer and he's been promoted by some in the cfmeu to help out companies with Union or biking problems is it rare to actually see a union favored building industry fixer having a power with a union delegate biky it's rare that it's caught on tape but it's not UNC commmon in this state what picture does it paid well you're not looking at a steering committee at a kindergarten are you doesn't paint a very good picture of the industry at all Sammy The Turk has been forced to put his building industry mediation business on hold a few weeks ago he was jailed for threatening to kneecap an accountant unless he handed over $500,000 but before landing Behind Bars he was telling people he was the best construction industry fixer going around able to sort out Union disputes and make everyone lots of money prior to his jailing we captured covert surveillance vision of Sammy the Turk with a familiar figure Gangland associate and cfmeu backed construction business owner Farooq Orman we learned more from a construction industry Insider who knows about uran and his Union connections one of the cfmeu boys said Sammy The Turk is taking over from G you use him to sort out issues with bikies of the Union Samy reckons he's on a retainer with a cking company and a big toing firm who had a blue of the Union that he sorted out you P him regularly and he fixes any dramas our investigation found a number of other senior biky gang linked figures among the ranks of Union delegates at the cfmeu among them convicted criminal and until recently Hell's Angels president Luke Maloney kickboxer Kane montabello the president of the dark side chapter of the Hell's Angels and former high ranking Bandido Johnny two guns Walker who recently got out of prison for manslaughter we've uncovered a lot of indicators of serious vys in the construction sector where are the stat police where are the federal police policing more generally um don't get involved in these matters unless it's a straight up and down extortion or there is a straight up and down um assault on someone the police generally don't have the time or um the workforce capacity to be able to deal with these issues for former assistant commissioner Mark nay the infiltration of such Shady characters in the union is a worrying and intractable problem you said the the cops aren't doing enough in this space the F commission is failing who then picks up the issue well there there is no one at the moment it's in a in a vant space um there there's a gap there what happens if the bikes the underworld figures in the construction sector aren't dealt with business continues it becomes more of an more of an issue cost of building uh and construction within our country gets more and more expensive to the point where um businesses start going to the wall um and things don't get built and what happens to organized crime up to the point where they make it crash they line their pockets coming up the evidence of dirty deals and kickbacks that taints the cfmeu I will take this to them they're going to ask me two questions sure one why am I helping you okay and two they want to eat we've shown you how the construction wing of the cfmeu in Victoria has embraced the host of shady characters now we can give you an idea of how things work behind the scenes we've arranged a meeting between an undercover operative and a self-styled cfmeu facilitator to inquire about obtaining a valuable Enterprise bargaining agreement to work on one of the Victorian government's big build sites so Jeffrey you're about to hear audio of a building industry fixer claiming he can provide some pretty special access to the cfu joining me to listen to the recording we obtained is top silk Jeffrey Watson SC director of the center of public Integrity the meeting gets underway with words of reassurance no problem we are I mean look I have a um a 30-year relationship with the Union very big relationship with them and you would know now that the biggest Union is C you're hearing the voice of Harry corus a life coach and colorful former security company boss with a conviction for tax evasion what you put out is what you get what you want how you want to be treated how you want to live your life is how you treat others is how when we called him on Friday corus insisted he had no connection to the construction industry the cfmeu or any scheme to pay Kickbacks in return for Union help this audio though appears to tell a different story they're very clever in how they do business you know and they don't give out EBAs that easy and the reason why is because they control the market the big build is there you can't get in if you don't know someone I'm not going to Happ [Music] the negotiation lasts less than 20 minutes and ends with a suggestion that an EA can be sorted for a cost so I'll tell you so the bosses are all my friends we all grw up together I will take this to them they're going to ask me two questions one why am I helping you okay and two they want to eat okay because what they have to do they have to look at the like they look at the big Bill they look at it and say or this is your yours but to put you there they have to move someone so um there's a fee to get the EA y I think The Upfront for is cash but all you got to do I told you tell the boys make sure they're okay and that's it that's business and everybody else that's business everybody Els it seems to be the kind of language derived from te television or movies it's gangster talk gangster talk gangster talk have clear is the fact that there is a corrupt deal being put on the table here that was a PL as day if you're paying secret commissions to get this kind of work it's SE the unions cutting out the members and they're selling their real reason for existence for money what we've shown tonight is ugly enough but the vicious politics of Union business can have some unintended consequences as Tammy Palmer knows only too well it was a beautiful boy uh full of life a great mate very family orientated love Sport and he always wanted to um yeah make his mom and dad proud that kind of kid and you were proud very without a doubt Tammy's son Ben Nash was a young indigenous man with a bright future he battled mental health issues throughout his life but by the age of 18 was immersed in his two great loves footy and construction Ben's first job was with indigenous labor hire firm Mar Dandy and for the enthusiastic young worker it was a perfect fit what did he tell you about the company he just loved it he loved the physical labor of civil construction he loved driving Machinery um and he loved working with his mats but the dream new job wasn't to last long by late 2023 M Dandy had fallen foul of the cfmeu and had aligned with rival Union the awu frozen out of work sites the company was forced to close a video reveals the sort of hostility faced by m Dandy's leadership from some elements within the cfmeu on a big build site I'll [ __ ] take your salt and I'll rip your [ __ ] head off you're a [ __ ] rat you want to go a and get an A agreement that's all right there a l come home far Ms Ben would become insens snared in vicious Union politics he had nothing to do with 2 months after ma Dandy was wound up he got a new job but on his induction day he unwittingly wore a shirt with the logo of his old employer he told his mom the sight's cfmeu rep was outraged according to Ben he went through the um the induction at the start of the day and um once that was all done um yeah he was pulled aside and and um told that uh nobody that worked for Mar would ever be welcome on side again he was told to f off they locked him in a shed for 3 or 4 hours just um you know a young boy with um you know mental health issues um throughout his life and um yeah they um he had got no help he didn't know whether to stay or go he chose to stay thinking he was doing the right thing he didn't know what else to do um and then he told me that an older chap had walked in and said what are you still doing here and um Ben was told to fart he wasn't welcome when Ben finally came home he wasn't himself he was angry he was upset we had a quick chat and he said Mom I just need to sleep I just need to sleep I just need this to stop I just need to sleep Ben went to his room where he took a mixture of prescription drugs leading to an overdose that Tammy believes was accidental I checked up on him at about midnight to make sure he was okay and he was fine and then um he was dead at 8:30 the next morning he fell asleep and didn't wake up Ben died in January this year a day before his 19th birthday devastated by the loss of her son Tammy Palmer is calling for change who do you blame for his death SAU why because they where was a duty of care for my son um why was he in a shed for so long if you could sit eye to eye with the Union leadership the cfu leadership what would you tell them stop the bullying the standover tactics the [ __ ] I just don't understand how my son can go to work one day and be dead the next from treatment on a cfmeu site it's got to stop it it's got to stop nobody should be treated like that but now that leader John seta has gone is there really any chance of things getting better coming up a Changing of the Guard at the cfmeu will the problems the culture that he's implemented leave with him I suspect it will be an evolution as opposed to a revolution the cfmeu Prides itself on looking after its members and last month thousands gathered at Melbourne's Festival Hall to endorse a deal that will see a whopping increase in wages over the next 4 years all fa inside former Rebel baky and longtime delegate Stu corkran could barely contain his Glee 20% [ __ ] pay rise there's not enough forward Rangers in the [ __ ] country huh first year apprentices are going to get Raptors God bless cfu God [ __ ] bless [Applause] him it's a parting achievement for Union boss John SGA after 12 years at the top his controversial Reign is now over what impact has John setka had on the CF muu well undoubtedly John setka is very proud and and quite a hard man in terms of running the Union as well so that bit has not been lost from the cfmeu the only thing I question is the direction that he's taken it for whatever purposes um that it's not necessarily all about the people that they protect and look after in the union but it's about who can get what out of the Union so unfortunately the the focus is not necessarily all about um those that are being represented it's about the mates the cronies the bikes yeah look after your mates look after yourself but former federal police assistant commissioner Mark nay says the question now is whether seda's departure will lead to substantive change in the cfmeu he has developed a pretty strong culture within his um organization and they have followed him um all this time and I suspect that a lot of the traits that he's brought to the cfmeu will probably continue maybe not with as much Gusto but it will be an evolution for that organization as opposed to a revolution no one's going to ask you to do these the man positioning to replace John teder at the Helm of the cfu's construction Wing is his Deputy Derek Christopher I'll never ever be ashamed putting more money in the pockets of building workers ever from any [ __ ] employer they're making [ __ ] Millions we want to be it's all it is [ __ ] that in a statement the cfmeu told us it has zero tolerance for criminality and if there is credible evidence of delegates or officials committing crimes they will be reported but Derek Christopher himself is Tainted by allegations of corruption police raided Christopher's house in 2019 over suspicions he' received Kickbacks to renovate his home the investigation has has produced no charges but police confirmed this week it is still ongoing tonight we can reveal new evidence that Christopher received an estimated $200,000 in benefits from major construction companies who gave the union Boss free labor and free supplies in return for cfmeu favors is there ever any excuse for a union leader taking a kickback or a freebie from a boss a big company from where I come from Nick no way we understand Derek Christopher has had such inducements from tier one big companies I'm not asking you to say whether you know about that I'm not saying you do but if Derek Christopher has taken freebies kickbacks from bosses big bosses tier one companies would that be acceptable if that's proven if that's more than an allegation this is the first time I'm hearing it how how could someone in a position of leadership stay in that position no way for Leo scadas boss of the cfu's manufacturing division it's more evidence of just how rotten the leadership of the construction Wing has become that's why he's standing up and speaking out in the hope of a major cleanup leadership isn't about turning a blind eye it's about confronting bad behavior where you see it in in your Trade union and making sure you stamp It Out Mr Greenfield why why are you here at the police station today and if it looks bad in Victoria the construction wing of the cfmeu in New South Wales is also in Strife its Firebrand boss Darren Greenfield is currently facing Court over bribery allegations I won't comment on those charges other than than to say that uh the charges are serious and people in positions of leadership whether they're in the Trade union movement or even in the corporate world when those situations arise should not continue to hold and exercise power the union is in crisis and even with John SE Kagan it remains deeply compromised the bribe payers bikes and underworld figures aren't going anywhere fast and the risk is without action from governments and the labor movement their hold in the construction sector will only get stronger it seems very much like the Trade union movement is is effectively powerless to deal with what you describe as clear misbehavior unions are constituted by Union rules all that's required is the political will from the other leadership and members in a trade Union to give effect to those rules we don't need outside bodies to police us we're quite capable of doing it ourselves but there has to be the required political will and just at the moment it appears that that might be lacking at that Union hello I'm Nick McKenzie thanks for watching 60 Minutes Australia subscribe to our Channel now for brand new stories and exclusive Clips every week don't miss out on our extra minute segments and full episodes of 60 Minutes on .com. and the ow app

Channel: 60 Minutes Australia

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Keywords: 60 Minutes, 60 Minutes Australia, Liz Hayes, Tara Brown, 60Mins, Amelia Adams, news, world news, news australia, investigative journalism, 60 minutes australia youtube, 60 minutes youtube, 60 minutes episodes, 60 minutes australia episodes, 60 minutes australia, 60 minutes, Adam Hegarty, Dimity Clancey, Nick McKenzie, cfmeu, union, unions, john setka, construction, building, construction companies, government grants, building contracts, tradesmen, construction business, gangs

Id: EuoWv-VKvy0

Length: 45min 18sec (2718 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 14 2024