Federal government paid $3.8m in personal protection for then CFMEU administrator

Mark Irving spent 20 months as the CFMEU administrator, during which time he fired hundreds of people and was subject to death threats. Composite: AAP

The federal government has paid millions of dollars in personal protection for the administrators of the CFMEU, and had to organise security for minister Murray Watt after he introduced the legislation that placed the union into administration, it has been revealed.

Under questioning from Liberal senator Jane Hume in the Senate committee on education and employment legislation, it was revealed that the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) has paid millions of dollars to keep the administrators safe.