Government Spent Millions on Security for Union Administrators Amid Threats

The federal government has paid millions of dollars in personal protection for the administrators of the CFMEU, and had to organise security for minister Murray Watt after he introduced the legislation that placed the union into administration, it has been revealed.

Under questioning from Liberal senator Jane Hume in the Senate committee on education and employment legislation, it was revealed that the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) has paid millions of dollars to keep the administrators safe.

About $3.8m was paid in personal protection for former administrator Mark Irving, who spent 20 months in the role, during which time he fired hundreds of people and was subjected to death threats.

The portfolio budget statements also reveal $5.3m has been set aside over two years to “provide personal protective security” to protect Irving’s successor, the union executive Michael Crosby.

Crosby, who previously served as the union’s New South Wales executive officer, was appointed as administrator last month.

Watt, now the minister for the environment and water, also needed personal security after sending the CFMEU into administration.

Hume asked the former minister for employment and workplace relations if he also had personal security, with Watt answering, “I did for a period of time, yeah.”

“I’m not sure that it’s wise for anyone to talk about what security arrangements,” he said.

Watt would not answer questions around the types of threats or where exactly they had come from that triggered his need for security, but said it was “criminal elements”.

“All I’ll say is that there were a number of criminal elements around the country who were not very happy when this government initiated an administration of that union,” Watt said.

“Because it stood to disrupt their business model, and those criminal elements operate in a way to express their displeasure that maybe you and I wouldn’t operate in. I’ll just say that.”

The secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Sally McManus, also needed personal security, but Watt made it clear the government had not paid for this.

Asked about the cost of security for the administrators, Watt said it was “the responsibility” of the government to keep them safe.

“The organised crime elements who have infiltrated the construction industry have made their profits by dealing with the union and some employers,” Watt said. “Not just the union.

“And I think it is fair for the government to pay for protecting the life of someone who has taken on a role because of a decision of this parliament.”

Working with home affairs, the department said it undertakes regular security checks for the administrator and provides protection.

The threats were being made by organised criminals outside the CFMEU, and were credible threats to his life, the first assistant secretary of DEWR, Sarah Godden said.

“The AFP, while obviously not divulging, conveyed to us that the threats made against Irving’s life were not only credible but by people with the means and motive to carry them out,” Godden said.

Crosby thanked Irving for his work in reforming the union. And said the union was moving into a new phase.

“This implementation stage requires a different set of skills within the administration and within the union,” he said.

The CFMEU was placed into administration in 2024 by the federal government after allegations surfaced that it acted as a criminal syndicate.

The AFP currently has three investigations into unlawful conduct across the building industry.