Story summary
The Big Build royal commission in Victoria opened its first public hearing on Wednesday, focusing on alleged corruption within government construction projects. Former South Australian chief justice Chris Kourakis, appointed to lead the inquiry with a budget of $50 million, emphasized his commitment to an exhaustive investigation during an August briefing.
Confidential documents from June 21, 2023, revealed that then-transport minister Jacinta Allan was aware of serious concerns regarding union tactics and potential criminal infiltration on taxpayer-funded projects. These allegations include issues such as organized crime figures appearing at construction sites and the presence of outlaw motorcycle gang members.
The inquiry, which covers infrastructure worth an estimated $150 billion, has already conducted closed hearings following its launch in August. It aims to address a range of issues including the extent of corruption on major projects, the effectiveness of government oversight, and actions taken by contractors to mitigate risks. Notably, former premier Allan will be required to give evidence as part of the inquiry.
The opening hearing underscored the significance of this investigation for Victoria's construction sector, indicating that key figures from both current and previous administrations may face scrutiny during subsequent hearings.
Written for “Big Build Royal Commission Opens” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 4 other(s) covering the same event.
The Kourakis royal commission has started at the top.
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commission → start → top
At its first public hearing, convened just one month after receiving its letters patent, it published in full cabinet-in-confidence documents that show Jacinta Allan knew more than three years ago there was big trouble on the Big Build.
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Allan → convene → Build
This was a ballsy opening from an inquiry intent on sending a message that it is not mucking about.
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it → send → message
Government ministers, senior bureaucrats, contractors, union bosses and the crooks who grew fat off publicly funded major projects have been put on notice that the royal commission is determined to clean up Victoria’s answer to the Augean stables.
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commission → grow → stables
Just as importantly, Commissioner Chris Kourakis has signalled his willingness to stand back and interrogate some bigger, long-overdue questions about how we got here.
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we → signal → questions
In laying down ethical markers early in his inquiry, Kourakis reminded us of some basic principles of how major projects paid for with public money should be commissioned, designed, managed and safeguarded.
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projects → lay → money
The first of these is that governments, before committing billions of taxpayer dollars to build anything, must with due diligence and care choose the right projects for the right reasons.
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governments → commit → reasons
“Governments must select and design infrastructure projects around the socioeconomic needs of the Victorian public, and not party political interests,” the commissioner said.
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commissioner → select → public
Is this how the government conceived of the Suburban Rail Loop, supersized its wildly popular level crossing removal program, or settled on the route for the future airport rail link?
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government → conceive → link
If the royal commission is not satisfied, the original sin of Labor’s $150 billion infrastructure program will be laid bare – pork barrelling on a previously unimagined scale.
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pork → satisfy → scale
Another principle articulated by Kourakis is that once a project is committed to, responsibility lies with the elected government and its public agencies to competently manage contracts and minimise risks.
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responsibility → articulate → risks
When things go wrong – such as bikies and recently paroled criminals worming their way onto building sites – it is up to senior bureaucrats to promptly raise the alarm with responsible ministers, who in turn need to show the leadership required to stop the rot.
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who → go → rot
It is here that the documents obtained by the royal commission relating to Allan’s knowledge of and response to evidence of criminal activity on Big Build sites in June 2023 inform a fascinating case study.
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documents → obtain → study
The cabinet-in-confidence documents detail concerns held by the Major Transport Infrastructure Authority, a government agency responsible for big rail and road projects, about organised crime figures turning up at Big Build sites and potentially standing over contractors.
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figures → detail → contractors
Putting aside the question of whether the former premier was truthful to The Age two months ago when we questioned her about one of these briefing notes, an issue for the royal commission is what she did at the time.
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she → put → time
She wrote the next day to then-police chief Shane Patton to pass on the intel.
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She → write → intel
What other steps did Allan, MTIA boss Kevin Devlin and other government officials take to protect the integrity of the Big Build and contractors already confronting a skewed industrial landscape?
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Allan → take → landscape
As counsel assisting the commission Chris Young, KC, noted, this was a time when the North East Link, the West Gate Tunnel, the Metro Tunnel and level crossing removal projects were all under construction.
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Link → assist → construction
The CFMEU, a union that had previously shown itself to be unconstrained by the law, was in a position of immense leverage.
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that → show → leverage
And thanks to the newly elected Albanese government, the Australian Building and Construction Commission – the federal watchdog – was about to be put down.
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Commission → elect → government
Commissioner Kourakis also provided some opening observations about the responsibility of union officials, noting the special privileges and powers they have under our industrial relations system.
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they → provide → system
“It is an especially egregious breach of trust to abuse those privileges and powers for personal gain, and there can be no tolerance at all for the carpetbaggers who corrupt an industry through extortion and bribery, whatever euphemisms they may employ to hide what they really do,” he said.
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he → abuse → what
According to information already provided to the commission, the CFMEU in Victoria long ago ceased behaving like a union.
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CFMEU → accord → union
“It has been alleged that the bosses of the CFMEU used their own power to line their own pockets and to enrich organised crime figures who infiltrated the union, rather than for the benefit of their members,” said counsel assisting, Chris Carr, SC.
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counsel → allege → members
This allegedly involved a CFMEU-backed shakedown in which subcontractors paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to Mick Gatto and other organised crime figures to secure union-endorsed enterprise bargaining agreements – the Big Build’s version of a golden ticket.
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subcontractors → involve → ticket
“These are grave allegations,” Carr said.
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Carr → say → ?
“Their accuracy will need to be carefully assessed.
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accuracy → need → ?
If they are true, it suggests that the CFMEU operated as a facilitator for organised crime, and that the Big Build involved an enormous transfer of wealth from taxpayers to organised crime.”
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Build → suggest → crime
Explore our investigation
- How we got here: Labor, the CFMEU and the $109 billion question that Victorians want answered.
- The original investigation: Uncovering construction infiltration by bikies and organised criminals.
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Victorians → explore → bikies
- ‘Rotting from the top’: How bribery, drugs, and bikies likely cost taxpayers billions of dollars.
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bribery → rot → dollars
- Biggest projects affected: Suburban Rail Loop and North East Link subject to allegations of fraud, corruption and theft.
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Loop → affect → fraud
- Bombshell briefing: Advisers sought to warn Jacinta Allan of union misconduct and criminal infiltration on the Big Build long before the scandal broke.
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scandal → seek → Build
- The cost: CFMEU price tag of each Metro station revealed.
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tag → reveal → station
- Should’ve called Saul: The economist whose work was used to dispute the cost of union corruption says he was never asked about it.
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he → call → it
- Administrator fights back: CFMEU’s new administrator says the culture in the union’s Victorian arm remains broken.
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culture → fight → arm
A company that secured contracts as the leading women-led supplier of female workers on Labor’s Big Build is owned by a male serial domestic violence abuser.
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that → secure → abuser
- ‘Grind it out’: How Jacinta Allan defended her refusal to establish a royal commission into Big Build corruption.
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Allan → grind → corruption
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