Source : the age
Victoria needs a royal commission into the largest corruption scandal in this state’s history.
Not only to expose how $15 billion of Victorians’ money has been rorted, but to ensure it never happens again.
This masthead has exposed the journey of how such an incredible sum was ostensibly collected by Labor to fund infrastructure projects, but instead travelled into the pockets of criminals.
No Victorian should be asked to accept this.
The investigative series Building Bad, along with the Queensland Commission of Inquiry, has laid bare an open secret: Labor’s Big Build has become a hunting ground for organised crime, standover men, and corrupt union bosses.
We know that underworld figure Mick Gatto is still being paid by Big Build subcontractors.
We know that integrity experts such as Robert Redlich, Deborah Glass and Geoffrey Watson, SC, are pleading for a royal commission into corruption on Big Build sites.
And we know that Victoria Police have stated plainly that they do not have the powers they need to tackle corruption of this scale.
But Labor is standing in the way of the reform needed to stop this scandal.
The government is not a bystander here. It is the client on every site, and it can set the conditions of every contract – including what can and can’t be included in subcontracts.
Tackling corruption isn’t just about cleaning up worksites. It’s about restoring the basic proposition that government spending serves the public interest – not those with the muscle to extract rent.
The government can demand standards and transparent procurement. Instead, Jacinta Allan – first as the relevant minister and now as premier – has allowed CFMEU bosses and their criminal associates to operate as gatekeepers on major sites – deciding who works, who doesn’t, and on what terms.
After years of excuses and a total failure to take accountability, it is clear that Labor will never tackle the corruption it has enabled.
The only way to clean up this mess is to change the government.
My team has a plan, and we are ready to deliver it.
Step one is a royal commission.
Labor’s claims that one has already been held are spurious – the previous federal commission into trade unions concluded in 2015, well before Allan became major projects minister, and while the Big Build program was still in its infancy.
The terms of reference for a state royal commission will be broad enough to examine individual misconduct as well as systemic failures that allowed corruption to fester.
The commissioner will have the ability to compel documents and testimony, and will be explicitly tasked with discovering where the gaze of elected officials was deliberately averted.
It will not shy away from documenting evidence that may reach the threshold for prosecution, and current and former elected officials will not be immune.
Step two is to enforce the law and find the money.
Both the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) and Victoria Police have said new laws are needed.
A Liberal and Nationals government will provide IBAC with “follow-the-money” powers, the ability to hold public hearings, and a broader definition of corruption. These changes will happen immediately as part of our first tranche of legislation.
Jacinta Allan wants to downplay the fact that $15 billion of taxpayer money has been lost to corruption. I won’t pretend that we can get every dollar back, but it will be my job as premier to go after every cent rorted from you.
Step three is to stop these rorts from ever occurring again.
We will ban anyone with known links to organised crime from working on a government site.
We will introduce tough new racketeering laws modelled on the US Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations (RICO) Act that will allow us to target organised crime bosses – not just their underlings.
We will reinstate a Victorian Code of Practice for the construction industry – setting enforceable standards for conduct on every taxpayer-funded site. We will also establish an independent watchdog to enforce the code and stamp out corruption in real time.
Every dollar siphoned off the Big Build program through corruption is a dollar that doesn’t deliver for Victorians.
Tackling corruption isn’t just about cleaning up worksites. It’s about restoring the basic proposition that government spending serves the public interest – not those with the muscle to extract rent.
Only I will deliver a royal commission. It’s what the leader of this state should do, and what Victorians deserve.
Jess Wilson is the leader of the Victorian Liberal Party and the member for Kew.
Jess Wilson is the leader of the Victorian Liberal Party and the Member for Kew.
