Witness tells Victorian inquiry a minister's office warning reached him during 2022 Gap Road dispute
A former official at the Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority (Vida), the state agency that oversees major construction work, has told a royal commission that a warning from a minister's office reached him during a 2022 dispute over a rail project. The commission, a formal public inquiry into the integrity of major public infrastructure construction in Victoria, is holding November hearings that are set to run until 20 November.
Peter Wilkinson, who now works as executive general manager of the Suburban Rail Loop authority, testified that his manager at Vida, Evan Tattersall, told him on either 6 or 7 June 2022 that he had discussed the Gap Road dispute with the minister's office. Wilkinson assumed that office was the one belonging to then-minister for transport infrastructure Jacinta Allan. The Guardian
According to Wilkinson's evidence, the warning was that contractors John Holland and CPB Constructions would not have any more work in Victoria if they could not handle industrial relations. Wilkinson passed the message on to Joe Aygur, general manager of the Rail Network Alliance, which was involved in delivering the Gap Road project. John Holland and CPB were at that time tendering for the airport rail project, another major infrastructure project funded by the state government.
The Gap Road project, in Sunbury, involves removing a level crossing, where a road meets a railway line. The commission has previously heard that officials from the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) shut down the site over what were described as safety concerns. It also heard that work resumed after two of the union's own health and safety representatives were appointed, and that the project changed its traffic and labour hire companies to firms aligned with the CFMEU.
Counsel assisting the commission, Chris Young KC, criticised Vida for failing to disclose relevant evidence in a timely manner.
Stephen Villella, delivery director at the Gap Road site, testified that none of the safety concerns raised by the union were serious enough to force work to stop. He also testified that workers on the project were fearful of the CFMEU, stayed in the lunchroom for long periods, and did not want to come to work for fear of what would happen to them organisationally and individually.
