Sorry two years for CBUS shows it’s time super members got a say |
Sorry two years for CBUS shows it’s time super members got a say
February 20, 2026 — 4:30pm
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“I will now make this very clear – no organiser or official is to agree to, or meet with, Mr Gatto or any other industrial mediator or fixer, except in the circumstances clearly identified in the policy.”
When the CFMEU’s federally appointed administrator, Mark Irving, KC, issued this warning in October 2025, the concern was that Gatto’s contact with the union opened the door for wrongdoing on building sites and worked against the best interests of dues-paying union members.
The “policy” referred to was issued after Zach Smith, seen as a player in a future, reformed, post-John Setka CFMEU, had organised for one of his subordinates to meet Gatto in secret. Smith ultimately stepped down, months later, from his CFMEU role citing personal reasons.
Viewed in this light, the decision of firefighters’ union boss Peter Marshall and plumbers’ union boss Earl Setches to join Gatto for a meal on a yacht last month seems at best ill-advised.
In addition to his union role, Setches is a “member director” on the board of the property arm of superannuation giant CBUS – meaning he is appointed by one of the industry fund’s union governors. On Thursday, in response to The Age’s reporting, the super fund launched a “fit and proper person” assessment of him and Lucy Weber, a CFMEU representative on the CBUS board.
Weber announced her resignation the........