Queensland CFMEU member allegedly harassed rival union boss in front of teenage son, inquiry hears
In short:
A Queensland inquiry has heard a CFMEU leader "watched on" as AWU state branch leader Stacey Schinnerl was publicly harassed and berated by a CFMEU member in 2023.
Ms Schinnerl, the AWU's first female Queensland leader, broke down as she recounted the confrontation.
What's next?
The commission of inquiry into alleged misconduct and corruption continues.
A rival union leader has broken down in tears at a Queensland inquiry while recounting how a CFMEU member allegedly publicly berated and harassed her in front of her 13-year-old son.
The commission of inquiry into alleged union misconduct and criminal links in Queensland is holding its second block of public hearings in Brisbane.
Australian Workers' Union (AWU) state secretary Stacey Schinnerl — the first woman to lead an AWU branch in its nearly 140-year history — has taken the witness stand for a second day.
The Australian Workers Union Queensland branch leader Stacey Schinnerl has given evidence in the Queensland CFMEU inquiry. (Supplied)
Ms Schinnerl gave emotional testimony about an incident in which she came "chest to chest" with a CFMEU member at a 2023 Brisbane Labour Day event.
The inquiry heard the man approached Ms Schinnerl in the AWU marquee at the RNA Showgrounds and said: "How do you f***ing like this?" while gesturing to his face, which was painted with the words: 'Australia's Worst Union'.
Ms Schinnerl said she told him to "just jog on" but he repeatedly called her "weak".
Ms Schinnerl says she told a union member to “just jog on” but he repeatedly called her “weak”. (Supplied)
She broke down while describing how her teenage son was watching the incident unfold.
"I kept on saying: 'My son is here. Just go. Don't do this here'," she told the inquiry.
"He [the CFMEU member] then really pushed up against me … we very much ended up chest to chest."
"It felt like he was trying to get past me to my child and the man said to [my son]: "How does it feel to know your mum's a f***ing grub who sells out workers?" she said.
She told the inquiry she saw former CFMEU Queensland assistant state secretary Jade Ingham "watching on".
"Mr Ingham made no attempt to pull him away," she said.
Ms Schinnerl was then briefly followed by a group of men wearing CFMEU shirts while leaving the event, the inquiry heard.
Some AWU officials 'moved homes' out of fear
Ms Schinnerl told the hearing "prolonged" violence, abuse, harassment and intimidation have taken a significant personal toll on her and her union colleagues.
"I've had [AWU] people feel that the risk is so great, they have had to move homes,"Ms Schinnerl said.
"I have not done so, I would never let them win like that over me."
She told the inquiry she believes Mr Ingham and former Queensland CFMEU boss Michael Ravbar know her home address — and that speaking out may make her an even "bigger target".
Ms Schinnerl told the inquiry she believes Michael Ravbar knows her home address (ABC News: Mark Leonardi)
"I cannot explain to you as a parent … how vulnerable that makes me feel."
"But it is the right thing to do because I have not done anything wrong … and if I am guilty of anything, it is actually standing up to them and I don't think they thought I was going to do that," Ms Schinnerl said.
She added that what "pains me most" is the damage the situation had caused to the union movement.
"Unions exist to improve the lives of working people … I think workers have been forgotten in this, I think political … and industrial agendas have taken over," she said.
'Utter pariahs' of the union movement
The inquiry heard the CFMEU plastered anti-AWU stickers and posters on buildings and erected flags on AWU offices amid an "aggressive campaign" to push their rivals from civil construction sites.
The inquiry heard the CFMEU plastered anti-AWU stickers and posters on buildings and erected flags on AWU offices. (ABC News)
Ms Schinnerl told the inquiry she was reluctant to report alleged misconduct to police because of a deep-rooted "unwritten code" in the union movement about "not grassing on your mates."
"That would be seen as the absolute antithesis of solidarity,"she said.
She became emotional again while telling the inquiry she would "do things very differently" if she had her time again.
"Perhaps if I had followed through with some of those complaints more formally … I could have stopped more of the serious stuff," she said.
"We would have been the complete and utter pariahs of the union movement, had we done so."
On Wednesday, Ms Schinnerl described being subject to a years-long campaign of fear, harassment and intimidation by the CFMEU that included a perceived threat on her life.
The inquiry heard CFMEU members told her to: "keep her head down or it would be knocked off".
The inquiry was announced by the Queensland government in July following a scathing report of the state branch released that same month.
In August last year, all state and territory branches of the construction arm of the CFMEU were placed into administration.