Pressure builds on CFMEU amid Ian Baxter’s alarming bikie revelations

Political pressure on the WA branch of the CFMEU has reached fever pitch after revelations the union employed two members of the Outlaws bikie gang. A day after UnionsWA threw its weight behind the construction union, The West Australian can reveal the bikies were on the CFMEU payroll despite being open about their gang associations. One of them, Ian Baxter, went so far as to brag about his union status — and his affiliation with the Outlaws — in a submission to police about anti-gang laws. “I personally have worked all around Australia on mining sites and construction sites and have met several members of all clubs who r (sic) & law-abiding citizens,” Mr Baxter wrote in a submission to Tasmanian Police. “Yes, there have been bad apples amongst. But they usually make their (sic) own bed & get dealt with accordingly. i (sic) am opposed to the laws that r (sic) proposed for outlaw motorcycle clubs.” Mr Baxter signed off as both a “dual ticket holder with the CFMEU and Maritime Union of Australia” and a “member of the Labor Party in Kwinana West Australia & an 18-year member of the Outlaws Motor Cycle (sic) Club”. In 2019, Mr Baxter, then a crane and rigging organiser with the CFMEU, was pictured awarding a worker with an honorary life membership of the union. Three years earlier, he was on social media accepting the keys to a motorcycle he won in a raffle held by children’s charity Variety. “A Harley enthusiast for many years, Ian just collected his new pride and joy this morning,” the charity posted. “Enjoy your new ride, Ian!” He was a patched member of the Outlaws with fellow CFMEU employee Phil Doolan. Both men no longer work for the union, and Mr Baxter is no longer a member of the Labor Party. The Outlaws gang is billed as the world’s oldest outlaw motorcycle club, having been formed in the US in 1935. The gang has kept a low profile in WA since opening its chapter in 2005. It is one of the 46 bikie clubs itemised in the WA Government’s anti-bikie legislation. It is illegal for club members to show gang insignia in public. WA Liberal leader Libby Mettam said the fresh “evidence of the links between gang members and the hyper-militant CFMEU” showed the union was “less concerned with worker safety and more concerned with being a home for bikies and organised crime members”. “The CFMEU doesn’t hire bikies and convicted criminals for their sunny dispositions; it’s clearly a tactic to bully and intimidate non-union members and WA businesses on taxpayer-funded projects,” she said. “Clearly, Roger Cook’s priorities are campaign donations from the CFMEU and not ordinary Western Australians. “Roger Cook is an unelected Premier who doesn’t govern for Western Australians; he governs for the unions who appointed and bankrolled him.” The UnionsWA executive agreed at high-stakes talks on Tuesday that there have been “no credible allegations” against the construction union in the State and said that it could retain ties with the peak trade union body. A spokesperson for the Cook Government said the matter was historical. “We understand neither Ian Baxter nor Phil Doolan has worked for the CFMEU in the past five years or longer,” the spokesperson said. “There are no allegations of them being involved in any criminal activity during their brief time as employees of the CFMEU. “We urge anyone with information or claims of misconduct to take it to the relevant authorities.” When told by The West about Mr Doolan and Mr Baxter’s affiliation, Federal Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt reiterated his line that there was “no place for bikies or organised crime in our construction industry”. “Earlier this week, we introduced legislation to give me the ability to put all branches of the construction and general division of the CFMEU into administration, “ he said. “This includes the WA branch.” UnionsWA secretary Owen Whittle said the organisation’s executive “was responsible for affiliation matters and will consider any credible evidence raised about criminality in union activity”. The CFMEU WA declined to comment. The union’s boss, Mick Buchan, was scheduled to address the union’s rank-and-file at a meeting on Wednesday night.