Axed CFMEU official Derek Christopher charged over road rage attack
A former senior CFMEU official suspected of corruption has been charged with an alleged road rage attack on a foreigner earlier this year.
Police on Thursday charged Derek Christopher, the union’s former Victorian deputy secretary and John Setka ally, with assaulting a 37-year-old man in an Essendon school car park on September 6.
Former CFMEU boss Derek Christopher.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui
As the victim was driving through the parking lot, he passed Christopher, who was standing with a woman and child. Police allege the victim was confronted and assaulted by Christopher after parking his car, leaving him with minor facial injuries.
A police spokesman said Christopher, from Craigieburn, was interviewed by Taskforce Hawk detectives and charged with recklessly causing bodily harm and common law assault.
Taskforce Hawk was established by Victoria Police to target criminal behavior in the construction industry after an investigation by this imprint revealed union infiltration by organized crime figures.
Christopher was granted bail and will appear in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on June 26 next year. Police said the two men did not know each other.
“Detectives are also appealing for anyone who witnessed the incident and has dashcam or mobile phone footage to come forward and speak to police,” a police spokesman said.
Christopher was fired from the union in 2024 after this imprint revealed an influx of bikers and gang bosses into the industry. The union’s government-appointed director, Mark Irving, KC, sacked Christopher, who sacked nearly 300 leaders of the CFMEU last year.
He was once head of the union’s Victoria branch, but corporate records show Christopher started Atlas Consulting and Mediation in late May after being sacked.
