Australian Building and Construction Commissioner v Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union and Ors (No.7)

This matter came before Judge Manousaridis of the Federal Court of Australia concerning admitted contraventions of section 343(1) of the *Fair Work Act 2009* (Cth). The Australian Building and Construction Commissioner (ABCC) brought proceedings against the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMMEU) and its officials, including Mr Manna and Mr Parker, for engaging in conduct intended to coerce an employer, DMG, into agreeing to a new enterprise agreement on terms proposed by the CFMMEU. The dispute involved actions such as blocking site access and making threatening statements to employees and management.

The court was required to determine the appropriate pecuniary penalties for the admitted contraventions of section 343(1) of the *Fair Work Act 2009* (Cth). Specifically, the court had to assess the nature and extent of the contravening conduct, consider the circumstances in which it occurred, and evaluate factors such as contrition and the need for specific deterrence when calculating the penalties. The court also considered whether previous contraventions by Mr Manna were relevant to the assessment of future likelihood of contravention.

In assessing the penalties, the court considered the intentional nature of the conduct, which included blocking site access and making veiled threats of adverse consequences. The court noted that Mr Manna had a prior contravention in 2009, but found it not of great relevance to determining the likelihood of future contraventions given the time elapsed. The court ultimately assessed a penalty of $6,500 for the contravention described in Kera Declaration 3, and also made orders for pecuniary penalties in relation to Mr Parker's three contraventions, as detailed in Parker Declarations 1, 2, and 3, which involved similar coercive conduct aimed at securing agreement to the CFMMEU's proposed enterprise agreement terms.