A commendably thorough, well-resourced media investigation by Nine Media – The Australian Financial Review, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and 60 Minutes, confirms that underworld figures, notorious gangsters and bikies have infiltrated and controlled employment access and subcontracting, especially but not only to taxpayer-funded major construction sites.

The federal, Victorian, and NSW Labor governments all feigned surprise at these revelations. Yet for years, the CFMEU had been found guilty of serious breaches of the law, including intimidation, violence and contempt of court.

CRITICISED

Judges have repeatedly criticised the union in the strongest terms.

Despite this record of criminality and corruption, the Albanese government came to power accepting tainted money from the CFMEU as a major donor, gifting Labor around $4m ahead of the 2022 election.

Once in office, the Albanese Government then extraordinarily and openly set in train favours for the CFMEU.

It legislated, with some Teal and independent Senate support, to abolish the construction industry’s only watchdog, the ABCC.

This agency was the significant check on corruption and illegal behaviour in the industry.

On the abolition of the ABCC, the Albanese Government claimed, with a straight face, that its functions would be taken over by the Fair Work Ombudsman.

On this, Aaron Patrick wrote in The Financial Review, that, to cite the headline, “Albanese is responsible for the monster that is the CFMEU”. To repeat, Albanese is responsible.

As for the Fair Work Ombudsman taking over the functions of the ABCC, Patrick says this office demonstrated as much interest in the CFMEU as “a teenager in house work”.

It has initiated not even one new case against the CFMEU. Furthermore, 30 per cent of ABCC cases have been dropped or partially discontinued.

Now, the Fair Work Ombudsman does point out that they are not allowed to investigate criminal conduct and have fewer powers than the ABCC. As Patrick says, this “of course, was Albanese’s objective”. Australians are paying for this.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, with support from the Master Builders Association, claims that CFMEU abuse has increased the cost of major projects by 30 per cent.

This scandal is only one delinquency which should mark down the Albanese Government to one term. Before recalling the others, we should note there is one unique feature surrounding this scandal.

It was researched, diligently and professionally, by several arms of Nine Media.

It has been the Murdoch media that has, at least in recent years, tended to lead such activities, supplemented by 2GB and what was once the Macquarie Radio Network and is now Nine Radio.

LOYALTY

Now, well-planned cooperation within the Nine conglomerate seems to have achieved this, as well as a realisation that letting Party loyalty prevail and dominate is not consistent with good journalism.

That it was not the Murdoch media this time signifies no failure by that organisation. But this is a significant change in the media.

There is no doubt that if a Coalition government were to produce half the failures of the Albanese Government, it would be hounded from office by an unrelenting media pack.

Just remember the fake storm over Prince Phillip’s knighthood, which this column revealed at the time.

That was all part of a media campaign to bring down Tony Abbott in favour of Malcolm Turnbull.

Until now, most of the non-Murdoch media had extended a record honeymoon to the Albanese Government, even after the people indicated their massive aversion to the apartheid referendum on the Voice.

The significant work by Nine on the CFMEU, and the impact this will have on much of the rest of the media, means this delinquent government can no longer bank on an overwhelmingly, if not supportive, tolerant media which essentially ignores or speedily forgets the government’s manifest failings.

We can no longer assume that Nine TV and press outlets will support a particular side.

While we are discussing the media, we do join with Andrew Bolt in counselling those members of the Murdoch family who appear to want to have their family’s publishing house follow so many in the US media and abandon journalism in favour of joining the propaganda arm of what is now the detritus of the once great Democratic Party.

To them, we would suggest they re-read Aesop’s fable about “The Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs” and apply it to the likely fate of the Murdoch media if it became indistinguishable from most of the US mainstream media.

As to this government’s incompetence, just note the latest revelation by The Australian that in its first year, before the High Court was involved, the Albanese Government released into an unsuspecting community more than 500 dangerous illegal immigrants from detention.

Just as they are bringing in people from Gaza without an effective way of verifying any involvement with Hamas terrorists.