ABCC dodgy inspectors

Inspectors from the building industry watchdog have admitted they destroyed or lost important evidence in an assault case against two senior building union officials on a Carlton building site.

The admissions from the Australian Building and Construction Commission inspectors came as part of a committal hearing to decide whether John Setka and Matt Hudson should stand trial for allegedly attacking the inspectors in March 2009.

The case has political significance with the Gillard government seeking to abolish the ABCC and replace it with a new regulator with watered-down powers. The Coalition and employer groups want the watchdog kept, saying there is a culture of "lawlessness" in the industry, particularly in Victoria, where the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union has received massive fines.

Inspector Mathew Keene, under questioning by Robert Richter QC, representing Mr Setka, admitted that he destroyed the notes he took after the 2009 incident.

Mr Keene said he never identified himself as an inspector to the unionists and said it was because "they never asked".

Mr Richter asked Mr Keene whether as a "building policeman" with coercive powers he should have disclosed his role. Mr Keene was questioned at length about the March incident and said it was common for inspectors to be called "dogs" by the CFMEU.

Mr Keene said the identification around his neck was thrown into his eye by Mr Hudson and that Mr Setka tried to forcefully remove the sunglasses from his head. But he also admitted he had not kept the sunglasses as evidence.

Mr Setka, current assistant state secretary at the CFMEU, has been anointed to be its next leader while Mr Hudson is no longer with the union.

A second inspector at the site, Shaun Hardwick, said he recorded events at the site with a digital recorder but due to a malfunction the recording was lost. He said he was able to transcribe the tape before the malfunction, evidence queried by Mr Hudson's lawyer.

Both inspectors have since left the ABCC and the committal hearing continues today.

■Yesterday, in a separate decision in the Federal Court, Justice Gray described as "sloppy" some of the investigative practices of the ABCC into an incident at Bendigo Scaffolding. He dismissed the case against the CFMEU and ordered the watchdog to pay the union's costs.