Police union boss quits for new role tackling industrial criminals

Police Association secretary Wayne Gatt has been appointed Victoria’s Labour Hire Authority commissioner with a plan to crack down on the infiltration by organised crime in the state’s building and construction industry .

Gatt announced his resignation to Police Association members on Thursday morning after almost a decade in the role and with 31 years in policing.

A government source, not authorised to speak on the appointment, said the way Gatt fought for wages and conditions for police and protective service officers over two enterprise bargaining agreements made him a good fit for the job of protecting workers’ rights.

A strong advocate for increased police numbers, a greater visible police presence , tougher bail laws and strong enforcement powers, the move means Gatt will not be part of any criminal justice system debates in the run-up to November’s state election.

Gatt said: “As I approached the end of my second term, I considered my future beyond that path. I felt the time was right personally, and that TPAV [The Police Association Victoria] was in a strong and stable enough position organisationally to transition to a new leader.

“I subsequently applied for this new role and I am honoured to be appointed. It feels like a natural next step following a policing career that involved significant time protecting and advocating for working people.

“I trust that continuing in a role that, at its core, protects workers from exploitation will be equally rewarding.”

The Labour Hire Authority (LHA) was established in 2019 to license employee labour providers, but has failed to stop career criminals dominating sectors of the industry.

Gatt replaces as commissioner Steve Dargavel, who has been leading the clean-up of Victoria’s scandal-ridden construction sector.

Since its inception, the LHA has received almost 12,000 labour hire licence applications, refusing more than 500, cancelling over 1000 and issuing almost $4 million in financial penalties.

The government source said Gatt was chosen because of his police and industrial relations background to take an even more aggressive approach.

Investigations by this masthead have laid bare the suspected infiltration by organised crime figures and corrupt CFMEU officials in the operations of labour hire companies turning over hundreds of millions of dollars on the state government’s Big Build projects.

Over the past 12 months, the commission has sought to shut down several firms accused of wrongdoing, which sparked fierce legal challenges from the companies but won the private praise of police agencies separately combating crime in the construction sector.