Employment and Industrial Relations Minister Tony Burke is like that boy in the orchard. Holding the stolen apples behind his back, he declares to the farmer: Who? Me?

Of course, he has known all along about the appalling, despicable, disreputable, corrupt and illegal behaviour of the construction branch of the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union. It’s just been more convenient for him and his party to turn a blind eye.

The Labor Party has been only too happy to collect the affiliation fees as well as the donations while handing out various favours to the union in return. The abolition of the Australian Building and Construction Commission is a clear case in point.

The agency annoyed CFMEU officials. After all, in its last iteration, it handed out fines to the union in excess of $10m. To be sure, the CFMEU regarded this sum as just the cost of doing business, but the officials still wanted it gone.

Labor doesn’t have the stomach to rein in rotten CFMEU