Anthony Albanese says Government has dealt with bad behaviour by unions despite Pilbara push from CFMEU

Anthony Albanese insists his Government has dealt with inappropriate behaviour by unions, following revelations officials from the scandal-plagued CFMEU are using loopholes in industrial relations laws to visit mine sites. The Prime Minister also put the onus back on the Fair Work Commission, saying the watchdog was responsible for keeping union officials under control. Mr Albanese was responding to The West Australian’s report former organisers from the construction union — which was forced into administration last year over fears it was overrun by bikies and gangsters — hold current right-of-entry permits despite having long industrial rap sheets. The passage of multi-employer bargaining by the Labor Government set up the union press into the resource-rich North West Pilbara through the Western Mine Workers Alliance — a powerful tie-up of the Australian Workers Union and Mining and Energy Union. “The Fair Work Commission deal with those issues, and that’s their responsibility,” Mr Albanese said on Thursday in Forrestfield, in the outer suburban electorate of Bullwinkel. “The changes allow for the Fair Work Commission to be very clear, to have responsibility for ensuring that appropriate laws are upheld.” One union rep who has long links to the CFMEU, Western Mine Workers Alliance organiser Paul Ferreira, holds right-of-entry permits which are valid until September 2027. Mr Ferreira hit the headlines for calling Prime Minister Anthony Albanese a nazi and has a history of misogynistic and homophobic slurs. “This particular person — I’ve seen the report — has had some rather colourful things to say about me, so I think it’s a big stretch to argue that he’s a friend of mine,” Mr Albanese said. “I’ve never heard of him before today, but inappropriate behaviour by unions has been dealt with by my Government. “It was in WA that I stood up at the airport here and expelled (former CFMEU boss) John Setka from the Labor Party. I’d been leader of the Labor Party for a matter of weeks when I did that.” Businesses say unionists who have been denied right-of-entry permits are using a loophole in industrial relations legislation that allows them to accompany health and safety reps on site visits. Mr Albanese would not say whether he would consider unwinding changes that allow union officials to enter worksites without being subject to a “fit and proper person” test, as recommended by the Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA.