Arabic version: تحقيق «بيغ بيلد» يستمع إلى ادعاءات بشأن نفوذ نقابة CFMEU
According to ABC News, Victoria’s Big Build royal commission has heard that a major contractor was concerned about what internal documents described as the CFMEU’s “unprecedented access” to government ministers and key Victorian government stakeholders. The first day of a two-week public-hearing block focused on allegations connected to a June 2022 work stoppage at the Gap Road level crossing removal project in Sunbury.
Counsel assisting the commission, Chris Young KC, said the matters being examined were allegations at this stage, and that some had been denied. The commission is considering several themes, including allegations concerning conduct by the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union on worksites.
Work at the Gap Road site stopped on June 6, 2022, and resumed the following day after control of the site was transferred to the CFMEU, the commission heard. Project costs were estimated to have increased by $6 million. Passages from John Holland internal memos were read in the hearing, including a 2017 memo that said the union had played a critical organisational and financial role in the election of the Andrews government.
The hearing also examined allegations of pressure and threats directed at subcontractors. Mr Young read from a transcript of an internal contractor meeting that said the CFMEU had warned Wagstaff Piling not to work, stating workers would be “smash[ed]” if they attended. Police and WorkSafe Victoria were notified, but Victoria Police took no action because the issue was regarded as an occupational health and safety matter, the commission heard.
Mr Young said the commission had heard of “remarkably similar” experiences from contractors on other major projects. The inquiry has received information through private hearings and requests for more than 110,000 documents. Public hearings are due to continue until November 20, ahead of Victoria’s November 28 state election. Premier Ben Carroll denied knowing of CFMEU access to senior government officials and ministers.
