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The former boss of Queensland’s peak building industry body attempted to commit suicide after thousands of union members marched to his workplace with a coffin and a Grim Reaper figure among their number.
Grant Galvin, the chief officer of Master Builders Queensland from 2013 to 2022, was called to provide evidence at the state government’s commission of inquiry into the actions of the militant CFMEU on Tuesday.
Galvin told the inquiry he was the target of CFMEU angst from 2017 until he resigned from the position, with most of the anger deriving from his position on the board of a small superannuation fund with CFMEU employees.
When he joined the Building Unions Superannuation Scheme Queensland (BUSSQ) in 2014, the six-person board consisted of three Master Builders-appointed members and three from the CFMEU.
Galvin said a CFMEU representative, Wallace Trohear, had been a “voice of reason” when he was on the board, but Trohear retired in 2019.
From then, CFMEU appointees Paula Masters, Jacqui Collie and later Emma Eaves began having to run decisions past then-union secretary Michael Ravbar, which Galvin said worried him.
Ravbar ran the CFMEU in Queensland for the better part of 20 years, and his allegedly threatening and aggressive tactics have been at the centre of the commission of inquiry.
“By late 2020 onwards, Ms Masters and Ms Collie became increasingly more vocal at times about needing to run things by Mr Ravbar before making a decision on the board,” Galvin said in his submission to the inquiry.
He said in the following year the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) had asked for evaluation of the capability of the board, and consulting firm Deloitte was brought in to write a report.
Deloitte handed in a draft report after speaking to all board members, which he found appropriately harsh on board chair Masters, but when the final report was handed to BUSSQ in 2021, the remarks about Masters had been toned down.
At the time the BUSSQ board was considering merging with a larger super fund, which Galvin said the union was staunchly against.
He said he took his concerns to the BUSSQ remuneration committee, and later APRA.
Shortly after he wrote to APRA, Galvin said he received a call from an “apoplectic” Ravbar.
“That’s when I knew becoming a whistleblower at APRA was a poor decision on my behalf … I could not believe that several days after this I was getting a call from Ravbar,” he told the inquiry.
Galvin said the union then tried to appoint Ravbar to the BUSSQ board. He said he told the board that appointment should be subject to the fit-and-proper director test.
Following that suggestion, Galvin said he received another call from Ravbar, which was followed by calls from major building firms asking him to settle any beef with Ravbar as it was causing issues on sites around the state.
Galvin resigned from the board in October 2021. In January 2022, all three Master Builders-appointed members followed him out, leaving it unable to function, which led to significant pressure from Ravbar, his deputy Jade Ingham and major builders to reform the board and nix any merger, Galvin told the inquiry.
In February, thousands of CFMEU members marched on the Master Builders headquarters in Spring Hill, chanting Galvin’s name, calling him a grub, with one marcher dressed as the Grim Reaper and another carrying a coffin.
Galvin stood inside with riot police and a small team of executives, having told a bulk of staff not to come in to work.
“The coffin was right outside my office window, where I was sitting with the police,” Galvin said, becoming emotional.
He compared the experience to boiling a frog, with the pressure from the union building over time.
Galvin said he suffered a mental breakdown and attempted to take his own life.
“You don’t actually realise the impact until it happens. I’m lucky I’m here today,” he said.
He resigned from his position shortly after the rally.
The commission of inquiry continues.
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