Overview
- Irving, who led the clean‑up since 2024, resigned on Monday and handed his powers to veteran organiser Michael Crosby while staying on as senior counsel.
- The Queensland inquiry resumed Tuesday with CPB Contractors saying CFMEU actions on Brisbane’s Cross River Rail cut productivity on key works by about half and drove internal cost estimates up by roughly $580 million.
- Testifying Wednesday, CPB said the state’s Best Practice Industry Conditions — a policy that set higher pay and site rules — lifted its Bruce Highway tender by $23 million in wages and $11 million in delay costs, pushing the price up about 13 percent.
- Senior counsel assisting Edward Gisonda said talk of a union ‘rebuild’ is premature because the inquiry’s work is far from complete and still testing how union pressure and government policies affected major projects.
- What happens next matters for jobs and budgets, with Commissioner Stuart Wood due to report by July and possible changes to procurement rules and union oversight that could shape who wins work and what taxpayers pay.