Tony Maher has been General President of the Mining and Energy Division since August 1998. Prior to that he held various positions in one of the CFMEU’s predecessor unions the Federated Engine Drivers and Firemen’s Association (FEDFA). He has been an organiser and industrial officer and has many years experience running industrial cases in industrial tribunals on behalf of members.
As General President he has had carriage of many major disputes waged against mineworkers under the now discredited ‘Workchoices’ legislation of the Howard Government between 1998 and 2007. These disputes included Hunter Valley No.1, Mt Thorley, Gordonstone and Blair Athol. As a direct result of that experience he led the unions determined political campaign to oust the Howard Government in 2007.
In 2004, Tony was elected to the position of CFMEU National President which means he chairs the National Executive and National Executive Committee of the whole CFMEU. These are the bodies that deal with issues of common concern across Construction, Forestry and Mining/Energy industries and deal with the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) and the Commonwealth Government.
Since 2006 Tony has led the unions work on Climate Change. In 2008 he was appointed chair of the ACTU Climate Group. He has been appointed to the Commonwealth Governments Carbon Capture and Storage Taskforce and the Prime Ministers Energy Efficiency Advisory Group. In 2010 he was appointed to represent unions on the Federal Government Roundtable on Climate Change.
The CFMEU is also affiliated to the International Chemical Energy Mine and General Workers Federation (ICEM), which represents more than 20 million workers in more than 132 countries. Tony is a member of the International Executive Committee and a Vice President of the Asia Pacific region.
