A CFMEU delegate was sacked only weeks ago. He now faces torture charges

3 weeks ago 10

A CFMEU activist accused by police of torturing a missing Brisbane businessman was forced from his union post four weeks ago amid concerns he was playing a key role in a rearguard campaign to undermine the Albanese government’s CFMEU takeover.

Organisers working for the government-backed CFMEU administrator, Mark Irving, KC, removed Anthony Perrett from his CFMEU delegate post in Queensland due to concerns about his performance and conduct on construction sites.

Fellow unionists, who spoke to this masthead on the condition of anonymity, have also claimed Perrett was part of small clique of CFMEU operatives actively involved in the push by ousted Queensland union boss Jade Ingham to take back control of the CFMEU.

Police search one of the crime scenes linked to the disappearance of Andrew Burow, a Brisbane man who went missing in August 2025.

Perrett, who was charged by Queensland detectives on Wednesday night over unrelated allegations he was involved in the torture of missing man Andrew Burow, is a close union ally of Ingham.

Ingham has separately been accused by the CFMEU administration’s chief investigator, Geoffrey Watson, SC, of overseeing a culture in the union of violence and intimidation often aimed at fellow union officials.

There is no suggestion Ingham has involvement or knowledge of Perrett’s alleged criminal activity, and Ingham has previously dismissed Watson’s claims of union wrongdoing as baseless.

Former CFMEU national president Jade Ingham.

But Perrett’s union activities prior to his removal as a delegate are almost certainly to be examined by the commission of inquiry into the CFMEU ordered by the Queensland government.

It is the second time in as many weeks a union figure has been accused of involvement in a violent crime. A fortnight ago, this masthead revealed how a Victorian CFMEU delegate accused of involvement in a brazen underworld execution was parachuted into a lucrative union health-and-safety role four months after he allegedly gunned down a gangland figure in a suburban car park in late 2023.

Irving has spent his first 12 months as administrator seeking to remove delegates and officials accused of engaging in violence or thuggery on worksites, a task made more challenging by allegations the CFMEU had previously encouraged strong-arm tactics by its representatives as a way of increasing its industrial power. This masthead attempted to contact Ingham on Friday but was unable to reach him.

Police established a crime scene in Bli Bli, about 90 kilometres from where Andrew Burow was last seen.

Perrett was denied bail in the Maroochydore Magistrates Court on Friday over the allegations he and a second man had tortured Burow before he disappeared.

Burow, a 56-year-old cybersecurity manager from Kelvin Grove in Brisbane, was last seen on August 20, with police declaring crime scenes at three Sunshine Coast locations.

Queensland Police officers descended on a property at Kokoda Avenue in Bli Bli, which backs onto bushland and the Maroochy River, on Wednesday.

On Thursday, two more crime scenes were declared on the northern tip of the Sunshine Coast: at Black Pinch Road, in Pomona, and at Kamala Drive, in Lake MacDonald.

Prosecutors told the court that police had discovered a mobile phone, zip ties, a firearm and a piece of paper with the victim’s parents’ address.

Perrett’s co-accused, 26-year-old Billy Howard, is accused of FaceTiming his ex-partner as Burow was being beaten with weapons.

Perrett’s lawyer argued police evidence against his client was weak, only relating to a booking.com confirmation, and a text message he had allegedly received from Howard, containing a picture of the victim with visible injuries.

The court also heard there was alleged telecommunications data that showed the two accused and Burow travelling together between August 21 and August 26, and money transferred between the co-accused men’s bank accounts.

The magistrate found Perrett posed an “unacceptable risk” to the community and remanded him in custody.

Perrett and Howard, who did not apply for bail, will face court again in October.

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