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‘Nothing is off limits’: Victoria to call royal commission into construction sector
Victoria has released the terms of reference for its royal commission into alleged criminal infiltration of unions and building sites, with the inquiry making clear that “nothing is off limits.”
Victorian Premier Ben Carroll has appointed former South Australian Supreme Court Chief Justice Christopher Kourakis as royal commissioner to investigate corruption in the state’s construction sector
The commission will be funded with a budget of up to $50 million and will have 12 months to conduct its report.
Carroll also released the commission’s broad terms of reference, which will examine the conduct of the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU), construction companies, labour hire firms, consortia, criminal actors and government agencies involved in Victoria’s major projects, with nothing off limits.
"The terms of reference are broad. They are expansive. Nothing is off limits," he said.
The new royal commission terms of reference follow new allegations that the Comancheros had sought to infiltrate Melbourne’s construction industry, including through labour-hire companies, union delegates and links to Victorian building firms.
He said the terms will leave it to the commissioner, rather than the government, to determine whose actions and knowledge are relevant to the inquiry and who should be called to give evidence.
“[Victorian] deserve to know how organised crime found its way onto our building sites, who allowed it to happen, and how we make sure it never happens again. Nothing less than a royal commission, with full coercive powers and public hearings, will get us there,” Carroll said.
Additionally, while a royal commission cannot charge or prosecute, Carroll said that the findings will have consequences.
“That is why we are establishing an Office of the Special Prosecutor: a dedicated, embedded resource working alongside the commission, so that when wrongdoing is uncovered, it is investigated and it is pursued, and people face consequences.“
Carroll said legislation would establish the new office with access to the evidence and information needed to act on the commission’s findings, with the special prosecutor to be appointed in September and given independent powers.
“I am appointing an independent commissioner, giving him the powers, the scope, the money and the time to get to the truth, and backing it up with a prosecutor to make sure the truth has consequences.”
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