CFMEU inquiry notes ‘direct line’ to premier

Detailed summary

The first week of Victoria’s Big Build royal commission has heard testimony of manipulative work stoppages by the CFMEU and a ‘good asset’ in the former premier’s office.

There is a calm, stately formality to royal commissions and sometimes you have to squint to see the drama. This was not the case by the end of the first week of the inquiry into Victoria’s Big Build. Chris Young, KC, was obviously seething.

On Thursday morning, before the day’s first witness was sworn in, the counsel assisting the commissioner stood to make several exceptional remarks. Visibly angry and frustrated, Young told the hearing that the Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority (VIDA), a state government body, had made several “unexplained redactions” concerning “plainly relevant” information in their submissions of evidence.

Young provided several examples, one of them being the provision of notes taken by former VIDA executive Evan Tattersall about the Gap Road level crossing removal project – the subject of the royal commission’s inaugural hearing. The site was a case study in lengthy, costly and suspicious industrial action by the CFMEU.

As provided to the royal commission, Young said, these notes included seemingly irrelevant information while pertinent information had been redacted. What’s more, Young said, it was only on Tuesday that VIDA had disclosed text messages from Matthew Toner, a senior adviser to then premier Daniel Andrews, and Matthew Phelan, who was then chief of staff to VIDA’s director general. Phelan would become Jacinta Allan’s chief of staff when she replaced Andrews as premier.

The Victorian government was being severely criticised and reminded once again of its obligations to the commission – namely, the swift, full and genuine production of relevant material. It was “profoundly disappointing” that this had not happened, Young said, and he threatened “more robust measures” were government bodies or individuals to continue to delay or obscure evidence.

Pointedly, Young said the compliance of “non-state parties” had been far superior to that of state entities, and the government’s actions had delayed the commission’s work.

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