Royal Commission probes CFMEU influence on Gap Road project and Labor links
The Victorian Royal Commission into the Integrity of Major Public and Civil Infrastructure Construction Projects heard evidence on 9 November that the Construction, Forestry and Manufacturing Employees Union’s (CFMEU) role in the Gap Road level-crossing contract was closely linked to the state Labor government. The commission was also presented with testimony that the union’s control of traffic-management services on the Sunbury rail project could have added more than $400 million to the Big Build programme.
The commission began its public hearings on 2 November with a two-week block examining the Gap Road project in Sunbury amid allegations of collusion between the state government and the CFMEU during Victoria’s Big Build programme. Earlier sessions also heard about the influence of labour-hire firms and former transport minister Jacinta Allan, while opposition leader Jess Wilson pledged to retain and expand the independent advisory body Infrastructure Victoria as the state headed toward a state election.
