source : the age
The High Court appeal lodged by former Queensland union leader Michael Ravbar was “very destructive” to administrators, the inquiry heard.
Geoffrey Watson says good workers were spooked, knowing that if it was successful, they could find themselves in the leadership’s crosshairs.
“A lot of people who were decent people, who were capable of coming around and working honestly, also knew if the decision went in favour of Mr Ravbar … they’d be seen to be on the wrong side,” Watson said.
“They were just not wanting to be seen as co-operative. So that really hung over the administration.“
Ravbar’s appeal was rejected in June 2025.
The public gallery has thinned out slightly, and a few lawyers look like they’re working hard to hold back yawns.
That’s despite a big day of revelations about how politically sensitive elements of a report were removed.
Watson is still giving evidence on the document, working through the edits point-by-point.
Costello is now taking Watson through some other changes between his draft and the final report.
Some elements are simple polishing, Watson says.
Others include the removal of a line about the substantial number of CFMEU organisers and delegates “who want to see this [ousted Victorian leader John Setka] man returned as their leader”.
This was a factual matter that changed between his draft and the final report, Watson says, driven by a large departure of such officials through resignations and redundancies since late November.
Watson says he has been always open to discussing factual inaccuracies in the reports and changing them as such. But he says this situation has shifted further in only the past two weeks.
“I’ve heard stories that some of the people who took redundancies walked out of the CFMEU offices and went to some of the employers and said ‘I want a job as a delegate’,” he tells the inquiry.
“They were employed almost immediately as delegates – and delegates get paid more than organisers.”
The inquiry adjourns for lunch, and will resume from 2pm AEST.
Watson is asked by counsel assisting the inquiry Mark Costello, KC, whether elements had been removed from other reports.
Watson says there were various minor changes, and one major change to a report into violence in Queensland relating to the Oaky Creek coal mine.
He wrote about it because “it was the worst example in the whole of the Queensland report”, adding that ousted state leader Jade Ingham was present.
But, ultimately, Watson says it was reasonable it was not included in the final reports handed to CFMEU administrator Mark Irving KC because it technically involved the mining division of the union – not the construction and general division under administration.
“I can’t remember anything else that worried me,” Watson says.
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli has described revelations that a former Labor minister was directing contractors to negotiate with the CFMEU as “explosive”.
On Tuesday, the CFMEU inquiry heard an accusation from the state’s civil construction industry chief that the former government was running a sham consultation around a policy which it was warned read “like a CFMEU document”.
Civil Contractors Federation Queensland CEO Damian Long’s evidence centred on the preparation and rollout of the government’s “best practice industry conditions” (BPICs) policies since 2018.
Long said there was a “ministerial direction to negotiate” with the union instead of the Australian Workers’ Union from then transport minister Mark Bailey via his department director-general, Neil Scales, and one of his deputies.
Today, Crisafulli said the accusation Labor was doing the bidding for the CFMEU was “one of the most explosive allegations you’ll ever hear”.
“It shows that the tentacles of influence from the CFMEU were so deep, and they not just controlled the government, but they owned a government,” the premier said.
“The former government was warned – they knew it was going to cost Queenslanders more, they knew it was going to stymie productivity, but they were so owned by the CFMEU that they did it anyway.”
Police were “dormant” on bad behaviour by the CFMEU until recently, Watson tells the inquiry.
He believes there was a culture of ignoring the problem, saying politicians and public servants had done the same thing.
“Police regarded these as industrial issues to be [worked out] between bosses and unions, or between unions and unions.
“The police allowed this to get out of hand, and there was nothing being done.”
He says Operation Hawk, announced by the Victorian government in 2024, had proven effective.
“They are properly funded, and they’re active, and they are doing something now.”
The hearing resumes from another brief adjournment, and anti-corruption expert Geoffrey Watson, SC, is now being taken through his theory of why the Victorian government did not act on problems with the CFMEU.
Watson says while some had suggested this was due to the historical connections between unions and the Labor Party, this did not seem adequate – while not fully investigated – given the “strained” relationship evidenced by ousted CFMEU boss John Setka promoting candidates against Labor.
“I wasn’t looking into corruption in the Labor Party, I was looking into corruption in the CFMEU,” he tells the inquiry.
“My theory is that what happened here, is the CFMEU built up such a momentum of authority and power that people were pretty scared of them.
“Because they had got rid of the AWU [Australian Workers’ Union], the CFMEU could bring the Big Build to a halt.”
Watson says the government “just wanted to get the projects finished”, and the only way to do so was to “keep the CFMEU on side”.
“The government was really beholden to the CFMEU,” he says. “I couldn’t see the Victorian government doing anything”.
Former CFMEU secretary John Setka allegedly said “f— the premier” when asked to choose between inviting Daniel Andrews or Mick Gatto to an event, according to a report into the union.
Integrity expert Geoffrey Watson’s report into the CFMEU, commissioned by the union’s administration and released publicly today, details the influence of Gatto within the construction industry.
He said Gatto was “best mates” with Setka and had such strong connections with the CFMEU that he could convince the union to stop work at any site.
An example of this relationship, Watson said, could be seen when the CFMEU invited both Gatto and then-premier Andrews to its annual Grand Final Breakfast.
“A message came back from Andrew’s [sic] office suggesting that, if Gatto was attending, the premier would not,” the report says.
“When he heard this Setka laughed and said ‘F— the premier’.
“Gatto was given a seat at the head table.”
Watson went on to say now was the time to break this relationship.
“Now is the time for change. Now is the time finally to break Gatto’s malignant influence over the CFMEU and the Victorian building industry,” the report says.
“Now is the time to get rid of Gatto once and for all.”
Geoffrey Watson, KC, has come to the defence of Mark Irving, saying he’s never met a “more honest and decent man”.
It appears during the brief adjournment that Watson read a news story on his phone about Coalition calls for the CFMEU administrator to resign.
“There’s something I’d like to say,” he tells the inquiry.
“I might have said some harsh things here today, but in my opinion … I’ve never met a more honest and decent man.
“They’d be mad to get rid of Mark Irving.”
The hearing resumes, with Watson now giving his view on why the CMFEU had such a hold over the government.
In Victoria, Opposition Leader Jess Wilson has called on Premier Jacinta Allan to front the media today over allegations her government failed to act on graft on taxpayer projects.
Earlier on Wednesday, Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny said the government would not respond to accusations contained in the report by Watson until it was made public.
Kilkenny did not say whether the premier would appear before the media.
Wilson said Allan needed front up today and she accused her of being “utterly compromised” given she was responsible for these projects as transport infrastructure minister and now premier.
“She cannot continue to deny knowledge or fail to take responsibility,” she said.
The opposition has committed to a royal commission into the CFMEU if elected and pledged to set up a new industry watchdog named Construction Enforcement Victoria.
Watson’s report estimates as much as $15 billion could have been added to the cost of taxpayer-funded projects because of CFMEU graft and organised crime.
Wilson said this equated to $5000 for every Victorian household and was a “morally indefensible waste of taxpayer money”.
