Leader of the Opposition, John Pesutto, has today written to Premier Jacinta Allan, demanding the establishment of a Royal Commission into CFMEU misconduct on Victorian Government projects.
For a decade under Labor, illegal and thuggish behaviour has been allowed to occur by the CFMEU on taxpayer funded construction projects, which has contributed to at least $40 billion in cost blowouts.
Worse still, over recent days Victorians have seen evidence of Premier Allan’s abject failure to act on serious allegations of wrongdoing when they were directly raised with her years ago.
Labor and the CFMEU are one and the same and Victorians should have no confidence in the Premier’s ability to fix the standover tactics, corruption, and extreme waste that has occurred on her watch.
Therefore, the Victorian Liberals and ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾s are demanding a Royal Commission to comprehensively investigate all elements of this wrongdoing in a manner that is entirely independent from Government. The proposed terms of reference include:
1. Investigating the nature, extent, and impact of misconduct involving the CFMEU on Victorian Government projects.
2. To investigate the impacts of CFMEU misconduct on the health and wellbeing of workers on Victorian Government projects, with a particular focus on mental health.
3. Examining the adequacy of current systems to prevent and address such misconduct.
4. Investigating connections between CFMEU misconduct and the management practices of Victorian Government departments.
5. Identifying the roles and responsibilities of individuals involved in the alleged misconduct.
6. Assessing the effectiveness of current legislative and regulatory frameworks.
7. Recommending measures to improve prevention, detection, and response to misconduct.
8. Examining procurement practices to safeguard against misconduct.
The Victorian Liberals and ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾s will never tolerate misconduct on construction sites as Labor has for the past decade.
In additional to the proposal for an immediate Royal Commission, a future Pesutto Government will establish to enforce a reinstated Code of Practice for the Building and Construction industry.
The Code will cover issues including standards of conduct on-site, fitness for work, content of enterprise agreements, prevention of sham contracting and collusive practices and other prohibited conduct. The new watchdog, Construction Enforcement Victoria, will ensure the Code is implemented across major projects.
Leader of the Opposition, John Pesutto, said: “For a decade, Premier Allan turned a blind-eye to CFMEU misconduct. The person responsible for allowing this shocking behaviour to occur cannot be trusted to fix it.
“The CFMEU is the Victorian Labor Party’s largest donor and influences internal pre-selection and policy positions. Labor and the CFMEU are one and the same and every Victorian is paying the price as a result.
“Premier Allan failed to act when warned years ago and her credibility is in tatters. Only a Royal Commission will get to the bottom of what has gone wrong and how it was allowed to occur and if Jacinta Allan refuses, she should resign.
“A Government I lead will never tolerate this thuggish and corrupt conduct and will establish a new construction watchdog to crackdown on these unacceptable behaviours.”
Shadow Attorney-General, Michael O’Brien, said: “Victorians have been bullied and stood over by CFMEU thugs for years under the political protection of the Labor Government.
“Labor and the CFMEU are one and the same and they cannot be trusted to investigate themselves.
“Victorians deserve a Royal Commission to expose the full extent of CFMEU corruption in Victoria and the complicity of the Allan Labor Government in protecting it.”
