As it happened: CFMEU protests across the country after union plunged into administration (2024)

Max Chandler-Mather has told thousands of union supporters in Brisbane they’re being attacked with the “most draconian anti-worker” laws in Australian history.

The Greens MP for Griffith said Labor was using allegations of serious corruption in the ranks of the CFMEU as an “excuse” to attack members.

“They have passed the most draconian anti-worker, anti-union laws this country has ever seen … and I say shame,” he told the crowd at Queens Gardens in Brisbane today.

“This an attack not just on construction workers but on every worker in this country because Labor has set a dangerous precedent.

“What they have done is handed every future Labor or Liberal government a blueprint on how to seize control of any trade union or civil society association they don’t like and crush it, and that is disgraceful.

“And Labor tries to blame construction workers for the housing crisis and this is a sick joke … how dare they?”

The minor party voted against Labor’s emergency legislation forcing the embattled union into administration, arguing it undermined civil liberties.

Last week, Chandler-Mather posted to X a video of him speaking in parliament, when he also criticised Labor’s legislation as “draconian”.

“Whatever you think of the CFMEU, it should send a chill down the spine of everyone in this country that both Labor and Liberals have been so ready to use the cover of untested allegations to effectively crush a union that is critical of the government,” he posted to X.

Sydney’s protest has also now dispersed, with union members spilling down Macquarie Street and through Martin Place.

A line of police took up position in front of parliament but protesters left without incident.

Ousted NSW secretary Darren Greenfield stood in the middle of the street shaking hands with union members.

Several thousand protesters attended the rally.

About 1000 WA construction workers are putting down their tools now with a plan to protest against the federal government’s forced administration of the CFMEU.

Workers will rally from 11am WST in Forrest Chase, marching together to Elizabeth Quay.

The CFMEU WA Facebook page encouraged members to “stand strong to defend the future of our families and our union”.

“Throughout history, union rallies have been the driving force behind monumental social, political, and industrial change,” a post said.

“These gatherings are not just events; they are powerful, visible calls to action, moments where ordinary people step into the pages of history and become part of something far greater than themselves.”

In Melbourne’s CBD the CFMEU protest has wrapped, with thousands of workers descending into nearby pubs.

Tens of thousands of people attended the event.

Ahead of the city’s protest finishing, one construction worker in the crowd, Haralambos, who did not want his surname used, said he was angry and disappointed by the federal government’s response.

“The whole thing is just really unfair,” he said.

“The CFMEU has been around for ages fighting for all our rights and all our benefits. It’s possible if this government comes in and seizes it we could lose it all. The government reckons the CFMEU is corrupt, well I reckon they should look in their own backyard.”

CFMEU national secretary Zach Smith has pledged the administration is not the end of the union and called on members to defend their rights.

Speaking at the Canberra rally, Smith said the union was here to stay, and this was not the death of the CFMEU.

“We are not a safe harbour for criminality, we are not a safe harbour for corruption,” he said.

“As long as you stick by and defend your union and defend trade unionism, defend your union, this is not the end.”

Smith said he had a simple message: “Your union is here to stay.”

“I’m going to continue to serve the members and put the best interests of the members forward on issues like Palestine, continue to be a good voice on issues like public housing, on taxation. I’m going to continue to be a voice for the working class on issues that relate to the future of this country, on taxation and the sort of country that we want,” he said to cheers.

“I won’t be silenced as part of this process because workers around this country [deserve] strong voices that will stand up and advocate without fear for those issues.

“We will continue to serve this union and serve our members, and we’ll make sure throughout this administration process and whatever rebuilding happens afterwards that members’ interests are put firm front and centre.

“And after administration ends, there will still be a tough, strong CFMEU.”

Chants of “Darren Greenfield, here to stay”, have erupted down Macquarie Street in Sydney’s CBD, just hours after the union boss’s case was heard in court.

Maritime Union of Australia Sydney secretary Paul Keating said the action against the CFMEU was because the union was the most militant in Australia.

Keating said the unions would fight “until every union leader was reinstated”.

The suggestion of a strike until the administration is repealed has drawn one of the biggest cheers of the day among the crowd outside Parliament House, which quickly swung its opprobrium to ACTU secretary Sally McManus.

“They’re going to go down in history as heroes of the working class,” a speaker shouted, and was met with cries of “shame” from the crowd.

“They will be remembered as traitors of the early class,” the speaker added, and the high-vis shirts roared in approval.

“Rats, traitors,” they yelled.

The NSW branch of the CFMEU was formally placed in administration overnight after the state’s Lieutenant-Governor Andrew Scott Bell gazetted the new laws late yesterday.

Melbourne’s protest has so far been peaceful, with workers marching through the city’s CBD – some holding CFMEU flags and others wearing black hoodies with “stand and fight” scrawled on the back.

The crowd moved down Exhibition Street where drums sounded and protesters chanted, “The workers united, we will never be defeated”, and, “F--- the ALP”.

Vik Sharma from the Rail, Tram and Bus Union addressed protesters as a police chopper flew overhead, and the crowd cheered outside the Fair Work Commission.

“Brothers and sisters, we are here today because we are angry,” Sharma shouted.

“We have every right to be angry, and we still stay angry until they sort out this mess.”

Sharma demanded the CFMEU be given back to the workers, vowing “this fight will not be over ’til we get our union back”.

“This crowd is going to be symbolic in the pages of history,” he said to roars of applause.

“Nothing has ever been given to us – we have always fought for it. We will keep fighting.”

Retired union official Christy Cain accused the federal government of betraying workers and taking control of the “greatest union in the country: the CFMEU”, as the crowd booed.

“They are saying they will permanently ban officials from working in other unions.”

Cain told the crowd his friend, John Setka, was with the workers in spirit.

The crowd chanted: “Johnny Setka, here to stay!”

Earlier, the mood at the protest was one of focus as thousands walked towards the city.

“Righto, start marching,” shouted an organiser as the crowd cheered.

“We stick together. We show the world, we stay together. We walk down to the government building and let them know what we think.”

In Queensland, thousands of workers have walked off the job and gathered at Queens Gardens park in Brisbane to show their support for the CFMEU.

Offices near the park were locked down this morning, with staff at the Queensland government’s main offices on 1 William Street told they’re unable to leave the building between 11am and 1pm amid feared safety risks from potential escalating demonstrations.

Other trade unions have turned out at the Brisbane demonstration to show their support, including the Electrical Trades Union (ETU).

An official from the electrical union’s Queensland branch said improved safety conditions over the past two decades were a result of the trade union movement, and called the move to put the CFMEU into administration an “attack on the trade union movement”.

“[Ninety-eight] per cent of [workers] are the good ones,” ETU Queensland deputy state secretary Peter Ong told protesters at Queens Gardens.

“The criminals in the building and construction industry are the builders and developers.

“The trade union movement in this country is under attack.”

He added he was told the ETU was “next”.