Live: Victoria's Big Build royal commission gets underway

Public hearings for Victoria's royal commission examining allegations of corruption on government building sites have begun in Melbourne.

It comes as the state's election campaign enters the final three-week stretch ahead of polling day on November 28.

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Mr Young raises a document that was tendered in the opening hearing of the royal commission.

It is a briefing dated June 21, 2023 sent to the then-minister for transport and infrastructure, Jacinta Allan.

i. the pressuring of construction contractors, including through intimidatory tactics, to agree to:

ii. A. demands for additional and/or excess site staffing;

B. the use of particular persons and companies, in order to avoid industrial disputation; unions' non-acquiescence to rosters and arrangements suitable for 24/7occupations, leading to program delays;

iii. an increased proliferation of full time, non-working union delegates and Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs) with some recent appointments having limited construction experience;

iv. a concern that industrial issues are erroneously being portrayed as safety issues, with little engagement or assistance provided by WorkSafe;

v. an increase in the prevalence of inappropriate requests for higher shift/leave loading and allowances beyond the relevant EBA;

vi. an increase in the prevalence of threats of unprotected industrial action; and

vii. an increasingly apparent lack of skills and/or experience in industrial relations management amongst contractors and subcontractors.

Mr Young says future blocks will explore the integration of organised crime into the construction industry.

He says members of organised crime were often given "large payments" for services that amounted to "little more than intimidation and menace".

Mr Young says other future hearings will deal with how government money was allocated, and how certain public projects were decided.

Mr Young lists what he calls "themes" of the royal commission's investigation into corruption on government work sites.

He notes these are all allegations at this stage, and some have been denied.

Counsel assisting Chris Young KC covers what the royal commission has already uncovered in its preliminary work.

Mr Young says more than 110,000 documents have already been requested by the commission, and hundreds of notices have been sent out.

Secret hearings have also been held already, with witnesses interviewed in private.

The hearing today will examine the events of June 2022 at the Gap Road project in Sunbury.

The project involved the removal of a level crossing and the construction of a new rail bridge and underpass as part of the Sunbury Line Upgrade.

On June 6 and 7 in 2022, there was a work stoppage.

After a meeting at the CFMEU offices on June 7, work resumed with control of the site transferred to the union.

The royal commission will investigate what occurred, what arrangements were made, what they cost and what the government knew.

Establishing the royal commission was Ben Carroll's first act as premier, a move that distanced him from predecessor Jacinta Allan.

But any hope the public would reward Carroll and Labor for calling the inquiry quickly evaporated.

The government didn't receive a poll bounce from changing leaders — it thus seems unlikely voters will reward Labor over the next fortnight if hearings expose fresh corruption claims.

The ABC's state political reporter Richard Willingham breaks it down in his analysis below:

The construction sites of the Victorian government's Big Build have become hotbeds for allegations of criminal wrongdoing, corruption and serious misconduct.

The Victorian government has called a royal commission into the alleged corruption, with its first hearings to begin this week.

To learn how we got here, head to our explainer below:

We're going to be bringing you live coverage every day in the lead up to the Victorian state election on November 28.

And while political parties hit the campaign trail, the Big Build royal commission will begin its first block of public hearings today, exploring allegations of corruption on Victoria's public infrastructure projects.

We'll bring you coverage from those hearings, as well as all the major political stories in the leadup to the state election.