The federal government has implemented special laws to put the rogue construction branch of the CFMEU under forced administration.
The new laws follow numerous allegations that the union has ties to known criminal organisations and has used bullying and intimidation tactics.
The Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment (Administration) Bill, which was put before the senate on August 12 and passed by parliament on August 20, would force parts of the CFMEU into government administration.
The Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt told the ABC that “ample time” was provided for the CFMEU to decide whether to cooperate with the government and that “urgent action” was needed to help clean up the union.
Minister Watt has championed the legislation, claiming that the CFMEU would try to challenge the bill, but he has said that the laws have been drafted in a way that would allow them to stand up to any challenge.
The Bill grants the minister the power to establish a plan for the administration of the union, as well as allow him to choose an administrator and determine the scope of power they could exercise.
Shortly after the CFMEU entered administration as many as 270 union officials were sacked due to criminal connections and many union members took to the streets to protest the severity of the actions taken by the government.
Administrative law specialist and law professor at UOW, Dr Niamh Kinchin attributes the governments hardline approach to cleaning up the CFMEU, to the bipartisan support that the special legislation has received in parliament.
“Passing legislation to create a scheme for the administration of one division of a trade union is certainly unusual, but the government no doubt felt strict measures needed to be taken,” Dr Kinchin said.
There may still be grounds for the CFMEU to challenge the special legislation.
“[The] CFMEU may argue that they were placed into administration without an opportunity to respond to adverse material and were, therefore, denied procedural fairness,” Dr Kinchin said.