Wednesday, 18 February 2026

 Bev McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (12:05): (1222) My question is to the Minister for Industrial Relations. In October 2025 in this place in answer to a question about CFMEU meetings with Mick Gatto, you said:

We have responded comprehensively to the allegations of criminal and intimidatory behaviour involving the CFMEU, including commissioning the Wilson review.

Notwithstanding the compelling evidence now in the public domain about the biggest corruption scandal in Victoria’s history, are you still confident there is nothing more your government can do to stop this corrupt activity on Victorian government Big Build worksites?

 Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Treasurer, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Regional Development) (12:05): I thank Mrs McArthur for her question. Mrs McArthur, I certainly would not say there is ever nothing more to do when you are dealing with serious issues. But what I would point to, and I stand by the comments that I made that you have repeated back to me in relation to acting when the information came to the government’s attention. As I said yesterday, when I came into the role as Minister for Industrial Relations the Wilson review had been commissioned, and it has been my responsibility as the minister to continue to implement those recommendations – recommendations such as setting up the complaints function to specifically deal with concerns around corruption or misconduct on government construction sites, which is now taking calls within the Workforce Inspectorate; establishing an alliance of state and federal industrial and law enforcement agencies to better enable collaboration and information sharing on matters of corruption; and introducing reforms to our labour hire scheme to strengthen the powers of the Labour Hire Authority to prevent those with links to criminal organisations from operating labour hire businesses.

As I said yesterday, Mrs McArthur, in relation to the report that has been the topic of the questions that you have put to me, there is not one single bad actor from the CFMEU that has been detailed in that report who is currently still with the CFMEU. The administrator has taken action to ensure the removal of those individuals. They have left, and indeed some of them have been prosecuted.

 Bev McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (12:07): Minister, on 15 October 2024 you told this house:

The construction industry is a fantastic industry for people with criminal records to get a chance to get employment.

Do you still stand by this phrase?

 Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Treasurer, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Regional Development) (12:08): So what you are putting to the chamber, Mrs McArthur, is that anybody that has been charged with a criminal offence has no right in the state of Victoria to obtain further employment. I am sure that the Minister for Corrections would love to jump up and intervene in this. We want to have training opportunities in our prisons. We want to have TAFE qualifications for people that have come into contact with the criminal justice system. We want to turn lives around. Of course we want jobs for people to have better opportunities and stay on the right side of the law, Mrs McArthur. That is an extraordinary position for the Liberal Party to put, that if you have been charged with a criminal offence, you can never work again in Victoria. Great policy position. Congratulations.