Tuesday, 16 June 2026

 Cindy McLEISH (Eildon) (14:07): My question is to the Minister for WorkSafe and the TAC. WorkSafe’s campaign tells Victorians ‘Don’t cross the line’. A CFMEU-backed construction worker with a history of stalking and violent offending locked a female colleague in a site storeroom at the Footscray Hospital project, smoking ice in her face while she was trapped inside. How can the minister look Victorians in the eye while criminals on the Big Build consistently cross the line and face no WorkSafe prosecutions on his watch?

 Ben CARROLL (Niddrie – Minister for Education, Minister for WorkSafe and the TAC, Minister for Medical Research) (14:07): The shadow minister spoke about crossing the line. Let me tell you why this is a very important campaign that I launched. Crossing the line is about making sure that every –

Cindy McLeish interjected.

Ben CARROLL: What was that? Are you kidding? Talk about crossing the line. You should be supporting this campaign because this is about making sure that every worker goes to work and comes home from work safely. We take a zero-tolerance approach. If it is a young person on the checkouts, they get the respect. If it is a tram driver, they get the respect. Under our government we fund WorkSafe and we fund the TAC because there is nothing more important than people coming home safe, whether on the road or from their workplace.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Eildon, when you ask your question, I ask that you be quiet and not yell across the chamber.

 Cindy McLEISH (Eildon) (14:08): The minister just said the government funds WorkSafe; it is actually not funded by the government. The minister says workplace safety is non-negotiable. Isn’t the truth that under Labor Victorians are told ‘Don’t cross the line’ but under the minister’s watch Labor’s mates on the Big Build know they can cross the line and face no WorkSafe prosecution?

 Ben CARROLL (Niddrie – Minister for Education, Minister for WorkSafe and the TAC, Minister for Medical Research) (14:09): They say they are the party of family values. They have never found a worker they have wanted to sack, and that is the truth of it.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, the Deputy Premier is desperately debating the question.

The SPEAKER: Deputy Premier, come back to the question.

Ben CARROLL: I will start where I began. There is a zero-tolerance approach. There is no place for violence, aggression or sexual harassment at any workplace. We are very proud of the crossing the line campaign, and we stand by every cent that we have invested in it.