Union cash shores up ALP

UNIONS are funding the re- election drive of the Palaszczuk Government at a rate of more than $ 15,000 a day.

Analysis of donation declarations reveal Labor has raked in $ 396,000 from trade unions since the November 25 election was called last month.

Another $ 135,000 flowed in the month before the poll was called.

The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union ( CFMEU) has contributed $ 158,000 since 2015, including more than $ 71,000 this month.

Labor’s union ties have drawn criticism after a series of court decisions against the CFMEU for illegally disrupting Queensland worksites.

The CFMEU has been fined a total of $ 569,000 since January, covering four separate court cases.

One case resulted in a $ 306,000 fine after the union was found responsible for the actions of former state president David Hanna, who illegally entered a site in 2015 and threatened to bury a phone down someone’s throat.

According to analyst Paul Williams, Ms Palaszczuk, who in early 2015 posed for a well- publicised “selfie” with Mr Hanna, should have done more to stand up to claims of union favouritism.

“There’s no doubt that suggestions Labor is beholden to unions, militant unions especially, is something of a millstone around Palaszczuk’s neck,” Mr Williams said. All up, unions have handed Labor a $ 1.49 million election war chest when factoring in union donations, affiliation fees and other funding that has flowed to the party since 2015.

But the funding is a sliver of what the unions will pour into sandbagging Labor when including undeclared manpower and political attack material, the Opposition says.

While donations from unions must be declared, campaign spending does not. It means the unions can pour resources into attacking the LNP in the election lead- up alongside the party’s official campaign without the dollar value having to be made public.