By Callum Godde in Melbourne

Explosive revelations of alleged bikie links, bribery and bullying within the CFMEU should come as no surprise to anyone paying attention, experts say.

A series of Nine newspapers reports have blown the scandal wide open with evidence and accusations of kickbacks, standover tactics and organised crime affiliations.

But outlaw motorcycle gang researcher Mark Lauchs said criminal associations with the powerful union were known to everyone in the construction industry.

“There’s no secrets here,” the Queensland University of Technology associate professor told AAP.

“We had a royal commission. It’s constantly been reported. The history of some of the key players and their role in debt collection is 40 years old.

“There’s nothing actually being revealed that we really didn’t know.”

A submission from Victoria Police to the 2015 Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption warned union officials were using bikie gangs as “hired muscle” to collect debts, with “standover tactics used to intimidate victims”.

Victims of blackmail or whistleblowers afraid to speak out

“Victoria Police intelligence has identified a number of known members of OMCGs such as the Rebels MC, the Comancheros MC and the Bandidos MC, being members of trade unions, participating in industrial activities such as strikes and picket lines, or engaged in ‘debt collecting’,” the submission said.

Victims of blackmail or whistleblowers were too afraid to speak out for fear of retribution, police said at the time.

Intelligence revealed union officers and officials were doing deals during enterprise agreement negotiations, leading to “unlawful payments” from companies to unions.

The bribes were to ensure companies’ promotion ahead of others, police suggested.

Other criminal activity highlighted included threats, assaults and violence in workplaces and short-term blockades to delay time-critical work.

A key point of difference from the royal commission details and the Nine investigation was the evidence of bikies and underworld criminals being hired as union delegates, Prof Lauchs said.

“They’re moving up in the hierarchy.”

Asked about the apparent “bikie-fication” of the CFMEU, Prof Lauchs pointed out many construction workers were moving in the same social circles as bikies.

“There’s no shock that the bikies haven’t infiltrated the teachers union or the nurses union,” he said.

“They’re different cultures.”

In the 2000s, the Victorian CFMEU’s main logo featured the Southern Cross and its four divisions of construction, mining, forestry and energy were represented with smaller icons.

It has since evolved to large block CFEMU letters, akin to the style of motorcycle gangs, and several items of clothing for sale on its official website carry prints reminiscent of bikie club patches.

One shirt is emblazoned with the words: “God forgives. The CFMEU doesn’t.”

CFMEU branding was on show in September 2021 across multiple days of violent and disruptive protests in central Melbourne following the shutdown of construction sites during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Union vest has ‘clear connections’ to motorcycle gangs

It was only natural that CFMEU members rubbing shoulders with bikies had flowed through to way construction union members dressed, Prof Lauchs suggested.

“The union vest has very clear connections to motorcycle gangs,” he said.

“They’ve probably reached the apogee of where they’re going to get fashion-wise.”

Rewinding to the mid-2010s, the $45.9 million trade union royal commission led by former High Court justice Dyson Heydon heard from 505 witnesses across 189 days of hearings.

More than 40 people and organisations were referred to federal and state authorities for possible prosecution in the six-volume final report.

Now-departed Victorian CFMEU boss John Setka was not among the group but other CFMEU officials were, including now-NSW secretary Darren Greenfield and former Queensland president Dave Hanna.

In 2018, Hanna was convicted of dumping dozens of boxes of documents after being told the royal commission would focus on the CFMEU.

Prof Lauchs said people spotlighted by the admittedly-politicised Heydon commission continued to rise through the ranks as there were very few consequences.

“If you do not take action when action’s available, you are sending a signal.”

Justice Heydon found thugs and bullies were involved in unions across Australia but political and union leaders this week preached their ignorance of alleged criminality within the CFMEU.

Federal Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke admitted previous conversations about union thuggery but said he had “never heard of” organised crime infiltration, a sentiment echoed by ACTU secretary Sally McManus.

Premier caught on the hop over complaints

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan insisted she had always acted on allegations but was caught on the hop when confronted over not replying to a complaint from an Indigenous labour-hire firm for more than a year.

Australian Constructors Association chief executive Jon Davies said rot in the sector was not limited to Victoria, stretching all the way up the east coast.

“Let’s face it, we’re all in some ways culpable for this,” he said.

“The politicians are culpable, industry is culpable and absolutely the unions.”

Mr Davies said the handing out of contracts to union-preferred companies has made it more expensive to build government and private projects, with the industry becoming less productive than it was 30 years ago.

Blame aside, Mr Davies backed the federal government’s move to appoint an independent administrator to the union instead of de-registration and views the unfolding clean-up as a huge opportunity.

“We now have this watershed moment to really properly refashion our industry to one that is far more productive, far more welcoming to women and one with a better culture,” he said.