Thursday, 19 March 2026

 Jess WILSON (Kew – Leader of the Opposition) (14:09): My question is to the Minister for Transport Infrastructure.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of the Opposition has a question. She will be heard in silence, or members will be removed from the chamber.

Jess WILSON: My question is to the Minister for Transport Infrastructure. $15 billion of Victorians’ money has been wasted through corruption and misconduct on the –

Members interjecting.

Jess WILSON: I cannot hear, Speaker.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of the Opposition can ask her question while I am on my feet.

Jess WILSON: My question is to the Minister for Transport Infrastructure. $15 billion of Victorians’ money has been wasted through corruption and misconduct on the Big Build. Does the minister support a royal commission into corruption on the Big Build, which has run rampant on her watch?

Lily D’Ambrosio interjected.

The SPEAKER: The minister for energy is warned.

 Gabrielle WILLIAMS (Dandenong – Minister for Transport Infrastructure, Minister for Public and Active Transport) (14:10): I thank the Leader of the Opposition for her question. It has been made very clear by me, the Premier and others in this chamber that this government has zero tolerance for any sort of illegal behaviour on government sites. Corruption and criminality offend every Victorian and need to be dealt with with the full force of the law, which is exactly why this government wasted no time in taking action when these allegations were first aired in mid-2024, through a number of different and very comprehensive streams of work. First and foremost there is the support the government has given to the federal government’s administration of the CFMEU and the support that we continue to give to that important work. There is the Wilson review, which separately to that was initiated by the Allan Labor government.

Jacinta Allan interjected.

Gabrielle WILLIAMS: That is right – the Greg Wilson review. And it is important work in setting out a dedicated complaints mechanism, which is important because you can only enforce what you can evidence, so that work is incredibly important. Of course, as a part of that, there was the strengthening also of the Labour Hire Authority, and we are seeing the fruits of that labour start to be realised with the cancelling of licences. Then of course there is Taskforce Hawk. As we have learned, some 70-odd charges have been laid against some 15 individuals, and that work is ongoing, stamping out the terrible conduct that offends us all so greatly and doing so with a sense of urgency, not kicking the can down the road but acting –

Members interjecting.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, almost 2 minutes into the response the minister has not yet dealt with the royal commission element of the question.

The SPEAKER: The minister was being relevant to the question. I cannot tell the minister how to answer the question.

Gabrielle WILLIAMS: So there is our support for the administration, there is the Wilson review and the many recommendations that came out of that that we are busily implementing, there is Taskforce Hawk and there is the work of the merit review, complementing recommendation 7 of the Wilson review, bringing together industry, unions and delivery agencies to see what more can be done. We have not stopped.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, again on relevance, the minister is being evasive on the issue of the royal commission.

The SPEAKER: I cannot tell the minister how to answer the question. She was being relevant.

Gabrielle WILLIAMS: The point is that we have not stopped. We acted quickly and we made the necessary changes to stamp out this terrible conduct. We are seeing that bear fruit through criminal charges being laid, through the cancellation of licences and through a reform agenda that we continue to implement.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, the minister is required to be direct to the question. The minister, after being called up twice, has still not said the words ‘royal commission’.

The SPEAKER: The member for Brighton has raised this point of order three times. The minister is still being relevant to the question.

Gabrielle WILLIAMS: Our priority has been to act quickly and comprehensively across a number of different work streams. Some may wish to kick the can down the road. Some may wish to waste time, to waste money and to look at ways to fill their $11 billion black hole, but that has not been our priority. Our priority has been to get on with the work and stamp out this behaviour.

 Jess WILSON (Kew – Leader of the Opposition) (14:15): When it was revealed that Gatto-linked M1 labour was operating on the North East Link, the minister claimed she had only just become aware of it. Can the minister now guarantee that no business linked to Mick Gatto is still working on any Big Build site?

Mary-Anne Thomas: Speaker, the point of order goes to whether or not the supplementary question is in fact related to the substantive question. I would suggest that it is not and that you rule it out of order.

The SPEAKER: I will allow the question as it refers to the Big Build.

 Gabrielle WILLIAMS (Dandenong – Minister for Transport Infrastructure, Minister for Public and Active Transport) (14:16): I appreciate that it has been quite some time – in fact I was probably a child at the time – since the opposition last delivered a project, so they may not be aware that the government –

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, the minister is clearly being evasive and debating the question.

The SPEAKER: The minister has only been on her feet for a few seconds.

Gabrielle WILLIAMS: The fact remains that the government does not directly employ workers on government projects. We fund them, and then our contractors manage the subcontracting of –

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! I cannot hear the minister. Leader of the Opposition, you demand silence when you are on your feet. I expect the same respect for other members.

Gabrielle WILLIAMS: It is an important process to understand. The government funds the projects and the contractors manage the subcontracting of the work across those projects. Irrespective of that, and as has been outlined in this chamber before – in fact it was outlined yesterday, I believe – any labour hire business mentioned in the Watson report is under review by the Labour Hire Authority.