The royal commission into allegations of corruption on Victorian government construction sites will hold an opening hearing in Melbourne on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The inquiry was the first commitment made by the new premier<\/a>, Ben Carroll, when he became Labor leader in July, after ousting Jacinta Allan, who had resisted calls for one. In August, Carroll released the terms of reference<\/a> and appointed Chris Kourakis, the former chief justice of South Australia, to lead the inquiry, while acknowledging there had been \u201cgrift\u201d, \u201cthuggery\u201d and \u201cviolence\u201d on taxpayer-funded construction sites.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what we know about the inquiry.<\/p>\n How did the royal commission come about? <\/p>\n Officially called the Royal Commission into the Integrity of Major Public and Civil Infrastructure Construction Projects in Victoria<\/a>, the inquiry comes after persistent reporting by Nine newspapers of allegations of wrongdoing by the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) and others connected to the Big Build \u2013 the Victorian government\u2019s pipeline of more than 180 major road and rail projects.<\/p>\n The reporting began in 2024 and detailed how some of the highest-ranking bikie gang bosses had been parachuted into union delegate positions on the Big Build. The Victorian CFMEU boss, John Setka, resigned as a result, while the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, placed the union and all its state branches under administration<\/a> in 2024 and then Victorian premier Jacinta Allan suspended the Victorian construction branch<\/a> from the state party.<\/p>\n Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email<\/a><\/p>\n The issue again gained prominence in February after the release of a report by Geoffrey Watson SC<\/a>, a director of the Centre for Public Integrity, during a Queensland inquiry into the union<\/a>. The report, commissioned by the administrator of the CFMEU, alleged $15bn might have been lost to wrongdoing on taxpayer-funded construction sites in Victoria.<\/p>\n \u201cMuch of that $15bn has been poured directly into the hands of criminals and organised crime gangs,\u201d it read.<\/p>\n In July, Allan \u2013 who previously served as the minister for transport infrastructure overseeing the Big Build \u2013 admitted criminals had infiltrated government sites<\/a> and apologised in an opinion piece in the Age.<\/p>\n But she rebuffed calls from Watson, integrity experts and her own MPs to hold a royal commission. This resistance led several Labor ministers to join a cross-factional group that urged Carroll to challenge Allan for the leadership. She stood down before a vote.<\/p>\n What will the royal commission investigate? <\/p>\n