Thursday, 30 July 2026

 Anthony MARSH (Nepean) (09:57): Victorians deserve to know who is being paid to build their roads. They deserve to know the people behind the money before they deal with them. Elite Roads is owned and run by a criminal. Deon Coote is a criminal environmental offender prosecuted for illegally and carelessly dumping industrial waste. Despite this, Mr Coote and his dodgy company are working on Victorian road projects, including the delayed and mismanaged Peninsula Link. The Age has now revealed that Elite Roads made payments to the underworld crime figure Mick Gatto while receiving work on Victoria’s Big Build. This is corruption and it is criminal. But that would be business as usual for Mr Coote and Elite Roads.

The Big Build has created a culture where contracts can be acquired and disputes settled with bullying, bribes and blackmail. My local colleagues and I will not be bullied and neither should Victorian taxpayers. Victorians should not be lining the pockets of a criminal who sees Victoria as nothing more than an industrial dumping ground. Anyone considering working with Elite Roads should know who they are dealing with. They would be doing business with a company run by a criminal who has made regular payments to the underworld and delivered little. Elite Roads insists its contracts were properly secured. If anyone believes that, I have a bridge or perhaps an overpriced road to sell them.