Overview
- Victoria Police Taskforce Hawk arrested three men, including former CFMEU official and Bandidos member Joel Leavitt, over an alleged $663,000 blackmail demand linked to a west Melbourne site on January 19.
- CFMEU administrator Mark Irving released Geoffrey Watson SC’s full Victorian-branch report to the AFP, Victoria Police, the Fair Work Commission and other agencies, citing serious allegations that have not been tested in court.
- Giving evidence at Queensland’s inquiry, Watson detailed the late-stage removal of politically sensitive chapters, said he was angry about the edits, and nonetheless backed Irving to remain as administrator.
- Premier Jacinta Allan rejected calls for a royal commission or coercive inquiry and questioned the report’s rough estimate that corruption inflated Big Build costs by about 15 percent, while saying bad actors have been removed.
- Fair Work Commission general manager Murray Furlong said Victorians have a right to know what happened and indicated Watson’s 15 percent cost-blowout figure aligns with information he has heard from Victorian officials.