Briefly:
Labour Minister Bill Shorten said he expects the Australian Labor Party to ban donations from the Canadian Mining and Mineworkers Union.
This comes in the wake of allegations that the Transport and Commercial Workers Union of Canada has links to the criminal underworld.
What then?:
The Labour Party’s executive committee meets tomorrow to discuss the issue.
Former state minister and union leader Bill Shorten says he expects the Australian Labor Party to ban all donations from the struggling Canadian Federation of Trade Unions when the party’s executive committee meets tomorrow.
“We will not take any more money from the CFL. The evidence is out. It’s out. We’re working to stop this,” Mr. Shorten said in a statement at 7:30 a.m.
“I fully expect the National Executive to ensure that no further donations are received from the CFMEU until its house is cleaned.”
The Metro and Rail Workers Union has made significant donations to the Australian Labor Party over the years, including hundreds of thousands of dollars donated by the union’s Victorian branch under then secretary John Setka.
Asked if Labor should return any of the money, Shorten said the last major donation “was two years ago”.
“We know that action needs to be taken. The leadership has been from the premiers and the prime minister. I don’t expect any part of the party to be any different.”
Broader reforms regarding donations
Mr Shorten also called for a broader reform of political donations, proposing to get “big money out of Australian politics”.
“I think we need to eliminate some of the large donations that generally come into Australian politics.”
Mr Shorten pointed to some measures being developed by his colleague Senator Don Farrell, the special minister for state, who is said to be working on proposals to impose restrictions on donations.
The Albanian government has appointed the Director General of the Fair Work Authority as an independent director of the Canadian-French Federation of Trade Unions.
Mr Shorten says a red line has been crossed.
“There needs to be an independent official appointed to the Transport Workers Union. They have proven, despite what they say, that they cannot fix these problems on their own,” he said.
“The evidence revealed in the last few days that parts of this organisation have been infiltrated by organised crime means that it needs a radical overhaul, which can only be provided by the introduction of a completely independent director.”
