In the still-lingering fallout of the ongoing reporting by this masthead and 60 Minutes into criminality, corruption and misconduct in the CFMEU and construction industry, Queensland – with its LNP government – is alone with its powerful public inquiry, despite federal opposition efforts to push the Albanese government to add such a probe to its clean-up of the sector.
But the background of the inquiry’s figurehead, some recent appointments replacing others said to have left amid internal concerns about how the inquiry was being run, and tension between its stated aim and the rhetoric of senior government members, have left lingering questions of the $20 million probe itself as it readies for hearings next week.
‘Never appears for unions’
Melbourne-based Wood has long run in conservative, pro-business Liberal circles. He was a party member as recently as 2020, and has since resigned. His 2021 hospitality famously preceded former Victorian state Liberal MP Tim Smith’s career-ending drink-driving crash.
Wood has had a long involvement with party-aligned legal group the Samuel Griffith Society – to which Bleijie and other Crisafulli government figures have given speeches. He was also once a member of conservative industrial relations group the HR Nicholls society, although Wood confirmed to this masthead that ended “many years ago”.
A political donation of $1500 to the LNP in 2023 bears Wood’s name. There are articles penned for the Institute of Public Affairs, and even descriptions of Wood by others. One, given at a 2023 ceremonial sitting of the federal court, saw Wood described as “one who never appears for unions”.
Someone sharing the name of recently appointed counsel assisting Mark Costello also made twin $2500 donations to the LNP in 2023 and 2024. Madeleine Stone is the daughter of former Northern Territory chief minister – and Liberal Party life member – Shane Stone.
The inquiry into the union kicks off this week.Credit: Catherine Strohfeldt
Wood declined an interview request. A series of questions instead sent by this masthead seeking further detail about any discussion had with Bleijie at the 2024 Christmas party, his donation to the LNP and those of Costello, recent staff departures, and whether Wood was concerned such matters could undermine the work or perception of the inquiry were not directly addressed.
Neither were questions about the apparent tension between the inquiry’s insistence of fairness and intention to shed light on misconduct “no matter who is responsible”, and the rhetoric of Crisafulli and Bleijie describing it as solely about the CFMEU and “Labor’s protection racket”.
In response, an inquiry spokesperson said only: “The Commission of Inquiry is operating independently and in accordance with the Terms of Reference covering misconduct related to the CFMEU and the construction industry.”
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“The commissioner and legal team will continue to discharge their duties fairly and impartially,” they said. “The barristers and legal experts supporting the inquiry have been appointed on the basis of their pre-eminent standing and specialist expertise.”
Bleijie’s response to questions about the timeline of Wood’s appointment, his attendance at the Christmas party, and whether he was concerned his own public commentary could colour the view of the inquiry included the same three quotes.
“We make no apologies for taking strong action to address the violence, misogyny and standover tactics from the CFMEU that have no place in Queensland, and this Inquiry is the first step in delivering the change that’s needed,” Bleijie added.
Asked at the time of Woods’ appointment if he considered the barrister’s former party membership to be a problem, Bleijie – who that week conceded an “obsession” with the CFMEU – said, “not at all”, and accused the Labor opposition of a “scare campaign”.
Later questions about the process behind Wood’s appointment were declared “matters for cabinet”.
Unions’ pleas to Crisafulli government
Queensland Council of Unions general secretary Jacqueline King said at the time the “captain’s pick” of Bleijie raised questions about the inquiry’s independence and impartiality and how this would be managed by Wood, who she said was, “on paper … very well experienced and should be able to do it”.
Other union movement and Labor figures have been less inclined to make public comments, despite insistence about their lack of wrongdoing, for fear of drawing fire from an inquiry variously described privately as a “show trial” or “witch hunt”.
The CFMEU’s Queensland executive officer, Jared Abbott, declared in September that after a year of administration, he had full confidence in the staff remaining or appointed since and there were no longer any cultural issues.
He has labelled the Crisafulli’s suggestions the union had “no place” in a modern Queensland “offensive and dangerous” and urged the government to work with the administrator-controlled union to address the broader issues within the industry.
“Queensland is about to go through a huge building boom and the CFMEU is determined to make a positive contribution,” Abbott told this masthead this week.
This is the landscape in which the inquiry’s first three-day block of hearings will begin in a Brisbane courtroom on Tuesday, parallel to the penultimate state parliamentary week of the year. A second will follow in early December, the week before MPs’ final 2025 sitting.
While no public schedule has been released, the inquiry earlier this month proposed tendering the unredacted report of Geoffrey Watson SC, commissioned by the CFMEU’s federally appointed administration, which served as the catalyst for the Crisafulli government to launch the probe.
Interested parties were told to ensure applications or requests to appear relating to the report – which alleged the state branch under ousted leaders Michael Ravbar and Jade Ingham, who wholly rejected the allegations, had cultivated a culture of violence including threats and intimidation of women and children – were lodged before the first hearing day.
CFMEU’s former Queensland secretary Michael Ravbar.Credit: Matt Dennien
Other Queensland-related revelations by this masthead and 60 Minutes included a gangland associate being paid $110,000 by a Gold Coast developer to strike a deal with the CFMEU four months into the union’s administration.
The $300 million Centenary Bridge Upgrade project was also revealed to be among major projects infiltrated by criminal-linked companies, as part of a ploy by AWU figures to outmuscle thugs and bikies aligned with the rival CFMEU.
Where does the inquiry start?
But in an update late this week, the inquiry announced the first batch of parties approved to appear “as required”: the CFMEU’s administrator, Mark Irving KC; the state of Queensland; a group of plumbing and electrical trades unions; former CFMEU figures Ravbar and William Lowth; and the Cross River Rail Delivery Authority – all backed by a who’s who of silks and solicitors.
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An opening hearing held in early October remains the only real public activity from the inquiry in the first three months of its slated 12-month runtime – with suggestion from Bleijie he would be open to an extension. Most work has been happening behind the scenes.
Notices to produce information have been sent as wide as construction industry subcontractors, according to sources familiar with the documents who requested anonymity to discuss the so-far private operation of the inquiry.
Such notices date back a decade since the August launch of the inquiry – months after the end of the last Campbell Newman-led LNP state government. The current Crisafulli-led administration has done little to hide its hope of findings against the Labor members who sat around the cabinet table in between.
Nor has Bleijie been shy about his efforts to rake back over a decade of Labor’s industrial relations laws to find those deemed favourable to the CFMEU.
The government, through its rebooted Productivity Commission, has also sought to sheet blame for supply issues in the largely non-unionised housing sector on the CFMEU and now-dumped union-friendly major state project procurement policies.
King, in a statement to this masthead, said such actions and the wide-ranging terms of the inquiry, which touch on the potential “uncommercial” nature of labour hire licensing, have left colleagues sceptical about the inquiry’s purpose.
“A glance at the Deputy Premier’s social media shows a clear animosity towards the CFMEU and contempt for the thousands of Queensland construction workers we rely on to build our homes, roads, schools, hospitals and Olympic infrastructure,” she said.
“By all means, address the conduct issues relating to the former leadership. But Queenslanders need a government focused on the real task at hand – tackling the skills shortage and getting on with building the homes our communities urgently need, instead of using the CFMEU as a scapegoat.”
Whatever questions still exist about the actions of the union, broader actors in the building sector, the inquiry and state governments both current and former, Queenslanders are about to start getting some far more public answers.
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