Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union official and former Canberra Raiders football player John Lomax has denied previous knowledge that a colleague was allegedly demanding bribes from Canberra builders, but has admitted to putting pressure on contract workers to join the union.
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Mr Lomax denied any knowledge that his former colleague Fihi Kivalu was allegedly taking tens of thousands of dollars in bribes from building contractors until it was revealed during hearings of the royal commission into unions in July.
During cross-examination at a hearing of the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption in Sydney on Wednesday, Mr Lomax said he had heard accusations against "all of us" on building sites about 12 to 18 months earlier, but nothing specific about Mr Kivalu.
"It was more all about the whole organisation, not specific about one person, you know what I mean? The whole organisation was corrupt and I was quite embarrassed about that," Mr Lomax said.
Mr Kivalu was arrested in July during the royal commission hearings in Canberra.
Last week, the Australian Federal Police dropped blackmail charges against Mr Lomax, who was also arrested in July.
Counsel assisting the royal commission, Jeremy Stoljar SC, played a taped phone conversation between Mr Lomax and a building contractor in April in which the contractor said Mr Kivalu "would have hit me up for f---ing five grand by now".
Mr Lomax is heard saying "I'm not interested in that, bro".
Asked by Mr Stoljar what he meant by that, Mr Lomax said he was not interested in taking money from the contractor.
During conversations taped in April 10, 2015, Mr Lomax is heard discussing the need for a contract worker to join the union. He asks the worker's boss to pay for the union membership.
"Hey, look, the biggest thing was to clear it up and just make him a member, man. Just tell him to f---ing sign up," Mr Lomax said during the conversation.
When discussing the need to sign the worker up as a union member, Mr Lomax told cleaning company boss, Adrian Maretta: "The biggest thing that'll stop anyone jumping up and down on them is obviously that signature."
After the tape was played, Mr Stoljar asked Mr Lomax: "As far as you were concerned, if he's not a member, he had to move off the job?"
"Obviously, that's what I said," Mr Lomax said.
Mr Stoljar asked: "Do you accept this is just an example of putting pressure on someone to become a member?"
"I'd like them all to become members," Mr Lomax said.
"You are under pressure yourself to get membership, aren't you?" Mr Stoljar asked.
"There's a little bit of pressure to get membership, yes," he replied.
