AFP Raid AWU Offices in Melbourne and Sydney

Statement from ACTU Secretary Sally McManus:

The ACTU condemns the nakedly political use of the AFP in today’s action against working people and their representatives.

Using the police in such a way, while refusing to do anything to prevent money laundering by terrorists and drug dealers by the big banks, demonstrates the government’s appalling priorities.

This is the sort of action you would expect to see by an authoritarian dictator, and it has no place in Australia. All Australians should be disgusted.


Malcolm Turnbull’s grubby political tactics and abuse of power to attack those who oppose his anti-worker policies is a new low. 

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The Australian Federal Police has raided the headquarters of the Australian Workers’ Union in Melbourne and Sydney.

The raids, which began shortly after 4pm, were ordered in relation to a Registered Organisations Commission investigation.

Plain-clothed AFP officers arrived at the union’s West Melbourne offices on Spencer St about 4.45pm and remain inside.

AWU Victoria branch secretary Ben Davis said he was disappointed with the decision to raid the building.

“The AFP have turned up unannounced with a search warrant looking for various documents pertaining to an investigation by the Registered Organisations Commission,” he said.

“This is a shameful abuse of process which both the ROC and the Federal Government should be ashamed of themselves.

“We have always provided any document that the Trade Union Royal commission and the ROC have always requested.

“Had we been asked in the last 96 hours for these documents we would have done so and instead they have gone for the circus of involving the AFP.

“This is an abuse of power, it is an abuse of process (and) you have not heard the end of this.”

Victorian AWU branch secretary Ben Davis says the federal police raids are “an abuse of power”. Picture: Jason Edwards AWU national secretary Daniel Walton said the raids were an “extraordinary abuse of police resources and taxpayer funds by a desperate government”.

“It is clear the ROC has been established not to promote good governance, but to use taxpayer and police resources to muckrake through historic documents in an attempt to find anything that might smear a future Labor PM,” Mr Walton said.

“This is a shameful new low for a government already scraping the bottom of the political barrel.”

Labor workplace relations spokesman Brendan O’Connor said the raids were “an alarming misuse of ministerial power”.

• “Turnbull and his Government openly directed the Commission to start this witch hunt,” he said.
• “The Liberals have already wasted millions of taxpayers’ dollars on their witch hunt into unions.”
• “They will stop at nothing to attack workers and their representatives.”
• “This is the NBN raids during the election campaign all over again. Australians will see this for the desperate tactic that it is.”

Victorian Trades Hall Council secretary Luke Hilakari said the raids were a “disgrace”.

“ROC inappropriately using AFP resources. Turnbull is trying to destroy the voices of Aust workers,” he tweeted.

Labor MP Stephen Jones told the ABC it was “quite clear a request has come down from the Minister’s office to chase this down”.

AFP Raid on Sydney AWU Office

The investigation is probing the Victorian AWU and national branches over whether donations made to activist GetUp! in 2006 were approved under the union’s rules.

At the time Oppositions Leader Bill Shorten was the head of the AWU and the investigation is expected to probe whether these donations were made within the unions rules and regulations.