Massive union corruption on a truly grand scale.
Bull S. and his corrupt Commo unions are rotten to the core.
And the shady GetUp! cheers them on.The powerful interest groups using your retirement money to feather their nestsBy Staff Writers - July 10, 2017 1013
One of the most brazen examples of minority interests skewing our public policy debate is the co-ordinated control of capital and political power by trade unions, hiding behind the brand of industry superannuation.Industry Super Australia is one of the largest and most well-resourced lobbying outfits in Australia, employing over 20 staff, at least two of whom are full-time Canberra-based lobbyists, under the auspice of advocacy on a single topic – superannuation.
The industry superannuation funds spend over $32 million of consumers’ retirement savings each year on advertising. Their political lobbyists, Industry Super Australia, alone spend $7 million each year.
There is no doubt that industry funds, as a collective, are strong performers on the investment front. But they betray people’s trust when they funnel members’ retirement savings into political campaigns run by opaque structures.
People join mutual organisations like trade unions and industry super funds so profits are returned to them, not to fund extreme campaigns, like the CFMEU’s, against the rule of law.
Co-ordination and groupingsThere is a network of related parties, broadly structured around an opaque holding company called Industry Super Holdings.
Industry Super Holdings is a vertically integrated network of service providers owned collectively by the industry funds that include:
A bank (ME Bank);
A funds management business (Industry Funds Management);
A financial advice business (Industry Fund Services);
A mortgage broker;
A credit control business;
An eligible rollover fund (AusFund);
An investment platform; and
Their political advocacy and advertising body (Industry Super Australia)
.
At any time, the boards of these entities read like a list of a who’s who of union bosses: Craig Thompson (jailed), Michael Williamson (jailed), Sally McManus and the CFMEU’s Dave Noonan and Michael O’Connor. Many of whom have either broken the law or stated they are prepared to break the law to get what they want.
Anti-democratic funding flowsTrade unions are in terminal decline – less than 10 per cent of private sector workers have chosen to join a union, and in total there are only 1.6 million employees who are also union members across the country.
But industry super has ensured the ongoing power of trade unions, with over five million consumers enrolled compulsorily, under legislation, into an industry (union) super fund.
These employees would not even be aware their retirement savings are being used to fund trade union advocacy. That is the whole point – if they knew they would vote with their feet.Over recent years, it has become clear Industry Super has two primary policy objectives to keep this structure running:
To protect a $10 billion per annum monopoly on superannuation contributions paid to their funds which is enshrined in Labor’s Fair Work Commission; and
To protect their control over these flows of capital by retaining legislation to guarantee the board positions of trade union officials on industry fund boards.
To be clear, the unions have created a structure which protects the flow of capital into industry funds and the control of that capital by trade unions. That capital is then skimmed to fund political campaigns for unions and the ALP, which in turn protect and introduce legislation that favour industry funds.
And what is this cosy, legislative scheme worth to the ALP and the trade unions? Over $53 million has been paid from industry funds and their related parties to trade unions in the past decade.Entities related to the Industry Super Holdings structure alone have paid various trade unions $4.5 million, with most of that occurring in the last five years.
Now that the unions have lost the recent Senate debate on the Government’s bill to reinstate the Australian Building & Construction Commission and deliver more transparency and stronger governance laws for unions, they will have fewer lurks and perks as the construction industry is cleaned up.Watch this space.
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