The Supreme Court has found that the CFMEU broke the law in orchestrating the outbreak of thuggery in Melbourne’s CBD last year. The protests were intended to bring GROCON to heal. Justice Cavanough found the union guilty of contempt on five separate days in August and September, during which police were attacked and their horses punched. Union boss John Setka, who has a string of convictions was singled out for special mention.
Federal and State Labor politicians are leading members of the CFMEU fan club. The Socialist Left faction welcomed the union back into its ranks earlier this year, it is the faction of the Victorian opposition leader who has refused refused to criticise the union’s illegal actions, saying, “I’ve not read the judgment”.
Could it be that he is in their pocket?
AUSTRALIA’S most militant union has been quietly underpinning the Labor Party’s finances, donating more than $9.1 million since the start of the Cole royal commission, placing intense pressure on the Gillard government over the future of industrial relations policy.
Analysis of political donations shows the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union has been the biggest donor to the ALP national office since the turn of the century as well as one of the core contributors to the party’s state branches.
As the CFMEU today embarks on one of its most controversial public protests in years, The Australian has obtained a detailed analysis of how Labor profits from the union, explaining the party’s reluctance to distance itself from its at times violent tactics.
bobmcgee 