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CFMEU inquiry updates: Probe digs dirt on Cross River Rail as bosses take stand
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Some final cross-examination, and that’s it for today – and Newton
By Matt Dennien
After some further cross-examination of Newton by counsel for the CFMEU administrator, Chris O’Grady KC, on the importance of unions and their role in the construction sector, O’Grady then shares some detail about a worker’s death the union alleged to have been the result of heat stress.
O’Grady tells the inquiry that while a coronial finding has not yet been publicly reported about the cause of Daniel Sa’u’s death in December 2024, his family had been contacted by the coroner’s court.
“The letter states, relevantly, the forensic pathologist has determined the cause of death was heat-related death,” he says.
With that, and thanks to Newton from Wood about the thorough nature of his evidence and statement, the inquiry adjourns until 10am tomorrow. We will be back tomorrow morning to resume our live coverage as the inquiry continues.
‘Apples to apples’ comparison shows $2 billion increase in Cross River Rail cost
By Matt Dennien
We’re now onto the cross-examination portion of the hearing. Up first is counsel for the Cross River Rail Delivery Authority, Damien O’Brien KC.
O’Brien asks Newton to explain the difference between the budget figure he has provided for the project in its 2025-26 budget of $9.83 billion and the $19 billion now being referenced by the Crisafulli government.
Newton says that the initial budget of $5.4 billion included the $1.49 billion in private finance eventually added on to the publicly reported figure of $6.88 billion, but at the time accounting standards had not required this.
In 2022-23 the figure was adjusted up to $7.85 billion for reasons including pandemic-related increases. This was then adjusted up to the $9.83 billion figure.
Newton says this is the “apples to apples” comparison to the initial budget of $6.88 billion, on top of which he says the Crisafulli government has added $2.86 billion in concession payments over a 25-year period, and $6.6 billion in other related work the authority and others are also now carrying out.
‘They had their troops inside’: Inquiry head on shift in CFMEU’s approach to Cross River Rail
By Matt Dennien
Coming to the end of Newton’s statement now, and the inquiry is being shown a number of graphs the authority has prepared to chart CFMEU activity.
Gisonda notes this shows the union leant on media in the earlier days of the projects, before an influx of health and safety matters after the “safety reset”.
This then dies down through 2024 as the CFMEU is placed into administration, and then the voting up of a new workplace agreement.
Gisonda notes the graph shows the union had relied on its media campaign earlier on in the project, then shifted to workplace and safety matters.
“They had their troops inside by then, so you didn’t have to use external pressure,” Commissioner Stuart Wood says, referring to the alleged regulatory capture of the safety regulator by the union.
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Gates to Cross River Rail sites chained after CFMEU led ‘safety reset’ walk-off
By Matt Dennien
The inquiry now turns to the “safety reset” of the project in mid-2023, soon after the serious injury of worker Nation “Nash” Kouka at the Boggo Road station site.
This had culminated in workers across the entire project walking off for a period of days, with a series of demands sent to the authority by then assistant state secretary Jade Ingham.
An audit of the site was demanded to be completed by organisers from the Building Trades Group of unions, including the CFMEU.
“They effectively blocked all the gates, I think in some cases … put chains on the gates,” Newton says.
Cross River Rail boss looked at defamation case against Ravbar
By Matt Dennien
Having already worked through the litany of targets of CFMEU attacks (ministers, government, the contractor) around Cross River Rail, counsel assisting the inquiry Edward Gisonda takes delivery authority boss Graeme Newton to the first personal attacks on him.
Ousted union state secretary Michael Ravbar gave an incendiary speech at a September 2021 union march on the authority’s office in which he labelled Newton various things including a fraud. (Which Newton denies).
After hearing Gisonda read from a transcript of the speech, Newton says while this was the first time he was singled out in such a way publicly, it wasn’t the first word he’d received of criticism against him.
“I was also aware that there was lobbying … into ministerial offices in relation to myself and my role, so I was not blind to it,” Newton says.
Making reference to earlier evidence of defamation proceedings launched by someone against Ravbar or fellow ousted union leader Jade Ingham, Commissioner Stuart Wood asks Newton if he considered it in this instance.
Some logistics, then lunchtime
By Matt Dennien
The inquiry adjourns for its lunch break until 2pm, after hearing logistical details from Gisonda.
He says he will wrap up the evidence of Newton after the break. Newton is then set to be cross-examined by counsel for the CFMEU administrator.
Given availability restrictions, key CPB figure Don Johnson will be called to give evidence on Thursday.
The firm’s general manager for Queensland and Papua New Guinea, Vince Sanfilippo, will then be called when the inquiry resumes its public hearings in mid-April.
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Inquiry looks at how regulator control was used to pressure project
By Matt Dennien
Commissioner Stuart Wood has made some comments tying together a couple of the threads we’ve been hearing about this year in public hearings.
Wood raises evidence given by the Workplace Health and Safety Queensland inspectors last week, around the control the CFMEU appeared to hold over the regulator.
He then notes evidence that Cross River Rail and its major contractor CPB were high on the list of projects and companies targeted by the union via the regulator.
Given Newton has offered evidence today that the union was engaged in misinformation about matters including health and safety, Wood says the implication is these were actually being “confected” to pursue its desired workplace agreement on the project.
Key government figures targeted in union’s campaign
By Matt Dennien
For some more on the CFMEU’s “Cross River Fail” campaign now, counsel assisting the inquiry Edward Gisonda, SC, takes Newton to a full-page Courier-Mail ad the union took out in December 2019.
Framed as an open letter to then-premier Annastacia Palaszczuk herself, the ad made allegations about the project’s conditions which Gisonda takes Newton through one-by-one to debunk.
While noting Newton’s evidence yesterday that he could not get into the mind of ousted state union leader Michael Ravbar, Commissioner Stuart Wood asks Newton to try to describe what the purpose of this was.
“There was clearly dissatisfaction where they came to with the enterprise agreement,” Newton says of what he described as attempted “misinformation and reputation damage”.
“So they made a very clear message that they were going to target the project, and by addressing it to the premier, it would seem they were wanting to target the government as well.”
By June 2020, after Kate Jones took over ministerial responsibility for the project, a further open letter was directed at her and letterbox drops criticising her were distributed around Ashgrove, in her seat of Cooper.
With a state election looming in the October of that year, the CFMEU would in the August withdraw its support from Labor’s left faction, specifically calling out former deputy premier Jackie Trad for perceived failures to look after workers’ interests on the project.
Inquiry turns to ‘Cross River Fail’ campaign
By Matt Dennien
Newton gives evidence about what is described as the “Cross River Fail” campaign launched by the CFMEU in 2019 after the Australian Workers’ Union alone struck the first agreement with contractor CPB for tunnelling works.
Gisonda takes Newton to claims the CFMEU made in pamphlets handed to pedestrians outside the Albert Street station site alleging asbestos had been identified and improperly disposed of.
Newton tells Gisonda he is not aware of any such occasion where pedestrians, or unprotected workers, were exposed to asbestos.
He agrees with Gisonda that the public campaign – coming the same week, if not the day after, the CFMEU was excluded from the contract – was to cause damage to the reputation, “if not other damage”, of the Cross River Rail project.
The inquiry adjourns for a brief morning break.
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Authority took on advisers with close ties to government or CFMEU
By Matt Dennien
Gisonda takes the inquiry through some of the people the authority engaged as advisers.
These included Paul Inches, Scott Gartrell and Evan Moorhead.
Newton says Gartrell was put forward by the office of then-deputy premier Jackie Trad.
Moorhead is a former senior Palaszczuk government strategist-turned-lobbyist who Gisonda says attended at least one meeting between the CPB and the unions. Newton says he doesn’t recall him “having a significant role”. He says he doesn’t recall how Moorhead was put forward, but notes he was “well known in Queensland circles”.
Gisonda tells the inquiry Inches was a former senior policy adviser to a state Labor minister and was named in a 2004 briefing note recommending he and ousted state CFMEU leader Michael Ravbar “have a line of communication to discuss policy matters”.
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