FED:CFMEU loses appeal, ABCC vindicated

AAP General News (Australia)
12-10-2010
FED:CFMEU loses appeal, ABCC vindicated

CANBERRA, Dec 10 AAP - The High Court's refusal to hear a construction union's appeal
against Federal Court decisions backed the Australian Building and Construction Commission's
position on punishing wrongdoing, the building industry watchdog says.

The longest-running case involving the ABCC, which has been criticised for union bashing
since it was set up by the Howard government, came to an end on Friday.

The CFMEU had sought leave in the High Court to appeal Federal Court decisions centred
on a February 2006 incident in which union official Bob Mates threatened a new contractor
at a Melbourne building site.

Mr Mates said the project would never be resumed unless two former union shop stewards
and a health and safety officer were re-employed.

Later that month a crane crew shut down and left the Heidelberg site at Mr Mates' direction.

It was Mr Mates' intention to coerce the new contractor to hire the three former employees
by shutting down the crane operations, the Federal Court found.

Last year the CFMEU was ordered by the Federal Court to pay penalties of $75,500 and
Mr Mates was ordered to pay $10,000 for contravening the 2005 building and construction
improvement laws.

The CFMEU lost an appeal to the Full Court of the Federal Court in May, and on Friday
its last avenue of appeal was dismissed by the High Court.

ABCC Commissioner Leigh Johns said the case vindicated the commission's approach to
pursuing legal action to ensure misconduct was penalised.

"On three separate occasions, over seven days, Mr Mates acted unlawfully, and it is
appropriate that the penalty determined by the court should reflect that," the commissioner
said.

"To suggest that it was one course of conduct trivialised behaviour that has no place
in today's workplaces.

"Union officials don't get to dictate who gets employed."

The High Court's dismissal of the appeal had given a big tick of approval to how the
ABCC runs its litigation, Mr Johns said.

The Australian Greens have introduced legislation to parliament that would abolish the ABCC.

Labor has said it will replace the ABCC's function as a stand-alone building industry
watchdog with an inspectorate within the Fair Work Ombudsman, but it has yet to do so.

AAP ah/sb/jl

KEYWORD: ABCC

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