“Following allegations of corruption and infiltration by underworld figures, the Federal government has been quick to distance itself from the CFMEU. Not so in the ACT!”, writes political columnist MICHAEL MOORE.  

The CFMEU crisis has opened a Pandora’s box for Labor across the nation and in the ACT. 

The symbiotic relationship between Labor and the unions is becoming less and less attractive to voters. Labor once focused as a worker’s party, but now has much broader support amongst voters as a social democratic party. 

Following allegations of corruption and infiltration by underworld figures, the Federal government has been quick to distance itself from the CFMEU. Not so in the ACT! 

Federal minister Bill Shorten declared Labor will no longer accept donations from this union. The Australian Council of Trade Unions suspended the CFMEU’s membership, and its chief, Sally McManus, has declared she will clean up the union.

There are serious questions about the cosy relationship between the Barr government and the CFMEU in Canberra. 

The examination by the ACT Integrity Commission into the handling of a construction tender at Campbell Primary School highlights community concerns.

As ACT Opposition Leader, Elizabeth Lee expressed: “The CFMEU is not only a member of ACT Labor that has input into party leadership positions, including the current Education Minister and Deputy Chief Minister, but also provides significant donations to the ACT Labor Party.”

The ACT Integrity Commission heard that a local company missed out on the Campbell Primary tender because it was not favoured by the CFMEU. 

As Ms Lee points out: “The Integrity Commission has also heard evidence that the pressure to do so came directly from the Education Minister’s office”.

The Labor Party has long been the party of workers. However, it requires much broader support to be able to win elections and to govern effectively. There is a reason that Labor stalwarts are madly scrambling to distance themselves from the CFMEU – well, everywhere but Canberra! 

The CFMEU revelations remind all voters that the Labor Party policies and actions are heavily influenced by union input. At a time when membership of unions has been steadily declining, the union influence within Labor has remained or grown stronger.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that “of the 11.4 million employees in August 2022, 12.5 per cent were a member of a trade union in their main job. This is a decrease from the 14.3 per cent recorded in August 2020. Trade union membership has generally declined since 1992”.

The influence of just 12.5 per cent of Australians on the Labor Party, and through it Australian federal, state and territory governments, remains totally disproportionate. All jurisdictions in Australia have Labor governments except for Tasmania – most of these governments will now attempt to illustrate that they are not so tightly bound to the union movement.

At the last federal election, voters who felt disenfranchised by the major parties turned to the “teal” independents. The explosive allegations about the CFMEU have now highlighted the lopsided influence that applies to all unions. These allegations undermine so many unionists of integrity who have dedicated their lives to the protection of workers.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr has been accused of fancy footwork to avoid having to take any serious actions to contain the CFMEU – let alone distance himself and the government from the broader union movement. Even in SA, where there have been no specific allegations levelled, the premier has moved to suspend affiliation with the CFMEU.

There are serious allegations of wrongdoing regarding Campbell Primary School and the link to the office of Education Minister and Deputy Leader, Yvette Berry. Prompt action is needed by Mr Barr to ensure appropriate distance from the allegations and the union involved.

After levelling an accusation against the Chief Minister of “dodge and deflect”, Ms Lee has argued: “It is not good enough for Andrew Barr to point the finger at other state branches of the CFMEU and say we don’t accept donations from those branches so it will be business as usual”.

If Labor does not find a way to take action nationally to distance itself from the union movement, it will also slip into a similar decline to those unions, and lose the support of voters. Many of Labor’s voters may well have been union members in the past but have no longer remain union members. 

And voters are recognising independent members across Australia as a sensible alternative. 

With the ACT election just three months away, many people who are looking for a socially progressive alternative to a unionised political party will be considering the sensible candidates who are running as independents.

Michael Moore is a former member of the ACT Legislative Assembly and an independent minister for health. He has been a political columnist with “CityNews” since 2006.