Bullets, coffins and abuse: CFMEU's reign of terror exposed in damning report
A scathing report has exposed the Queensland branch of militant construction union the CFMEU's reign of fear, detailing threats of bullets, sexual abuse, and the targeting of children over their parents' roles.
A bombshell 45-page investigation by anti-corruption expert Geoffrey Watson SC, commissioned by union administrator Mark Irving KC, has revealed a deeply disturbing portrait of the CFMEU's conduct under former state leaders Michael Ravbar and Jade Ingham.
NewsWire is not suggesting Mr Ravbar or Mr Ingham engaged in any wrongdoing.
Mr Watson described it as a 'perverted model' of unionism where threats and abuse were used to dominate and control.
Among the most shocking findings was a litany of vile threats, including officials telling people 'we know where you live' and 'there's a bullet with your name on it', a public servant locked in a cupboard; and a young woman harassed at a gym over her father's role as a workplace health and safety inspector.
Mr Watson said the CFMEU 'actually intended to inflict physical, sexual, emotional, and economic abuse on others' and showed 'no genuine remorse' for its behaviour.
'The CFMEU is ruthless – it will crush anyone offering any resistance to it,' Mr Watson wrote.
'This included, if necessary, destroying individuals and businesses.'
He cited other threats such as 'we know you have two young sons', and 'we won't stop coming for you – no one can protect you'.
The report found CFMEU leaders fostered an environment where violence was used to intimidate Workplace Health and Safety inspectors, public servants, rival unions, and employers.
The report stated that in 2021, a 21-year-old woman was approached at a Brisbane gym and told: 'Is that your old man on the video? He's a f**king c**t.'
In another incident, a WHS inspector attending a funeral was surrounded by three strangers who hurled abuse at him, calling him a 'c**t' and a 'f**king dog
Another WHS official was stalked by a union member wielding a live angle grinder.
In another case, CFMEU members hoisted a coffin outside the Master Builders' office in a protest, shouting to a young woman behind the glass: 'Come out here and I'll f**k you.'
Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie said the level of abuse detailed in the report was more horrifying than even he had suspected despite warning about the union's conduct for years.
'Public servants, women locked in cupboards and threatened. Staff members of Workplace Health and Safety … it's worse than I could have imagined,' Mr Bleijie said on Today.
'They threatened people with bullets. They threatened people with coffins. (They said): 'You won't come home from the construction site'.'
Mr Bleijie said family members were treated as 'fair game'.
'I knew it was but I have to admit I didn't think it was this bad,' Mr Bleijie said on Sunrise.
'We already changed legislation in the first three months (of) government to stem a lot of these issues out of the CFMEU, but this report is wild and worse than I could have imagined.'
The report stated things became so bad for WHS inspectors that they had to introduce their own safe work practices to protect themselves, including body-worn cameras and a buddy system.
The union also stormed government offices, caused $25,000 in damage during a lockdown, and issued a bomb threat at a West End site, the report found.
Mr Watson wrote in his report that CFMEU organisers said they had never seen any violence emanating from the union.
'That is laughable given the extensive court findings and the irrefutable video evidence,' Mr Watson stated.
Mr Watson conducted 55 interviews with CFMEU officials, members, other trade unionists, politicians, bureaucrats, building contractors, employer representatives, bystanders, and victims and examined extensive video and photographic evidence.
Despite this, he said he feared his investigation 'only scratched the surface'.
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