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Premier Jacinta Allan has conceded the government’s infrastructure tsar privately warned her about serious wrongdoing on Labor’s $100 billion Big Build, but said it was not found to be “systemic”.
The Age and The Australian Financial Review on Tuesday revealed that Kevin Devlin, the head of the Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority, repeatedly raised his concerns with the then-transport infrastructure minister before this masthead’s Building Bad investigation.
Deputy Nationals leader Emma Kealy said it was “utter bullshit” that the premier did not know about widespread wrongdoing on government building sites and that she should “step up or step away from the job”.
Allan acknowledged that Devlin had brought the issue to her attention, but maintained she had responded appropriately.
“When Kevin Devlin raised with me in a meeting in June 2023 that he was aware the authority at the time was aware of anecdotal claims of alleged criminal behaviour, I ordered for those claims to be investigated by the agency with the Department of Transport at the time,” the premier said on Tuesday.
“They came back and provided advice that there was no evidence that there was systematic behaviour, but I was still concerned enough. I was concerned that this needed to be investigated further, which is why, in addition to the authority referring this matter to Victoria Police, I also, too, in June of 2023 wrote to the chief commissioner of Victoria Police.”
Allan refused to say how many times she had been warned, but insisted that she had responded accordingly whenever it was brought to her attention and that she had “zero tolerance for any sort of criminal behaviour” on work sites.
Four sources said Devlin felt his concerns had not been heeded.
As one of a small number of senior public servants serving as a director of peak body Roads Australia, Devlin separately contributed to its board’s collective estimate – detailed in a confidential briefing note obtained by this masthead – last year that entrenched industrial lawlessness and criminality was fuelling 30 per cent blowouts on government infrastructure projects.
Allan, who has refused calls for a royal commission, said she was “of course” concerned by that figure.
“As evidenced by the actions that we have taken,” she said.
But Allan dismissed estimates by corruption buster Geoffrey Watson, SC, that 15 per cent of the Big Build’s $100 billion price tag had been lost to crime and corruption.
Victoria Police established Operation Hawk, following this masthead’s Building Bad investigation in 2024, and has since laid dozens of charges. The Labor Hire Authority has also cancelled and suspended licenses using stronger powers.
“They’re cleaning up the industry,” Allan said. “The culture is changing, and it’s changing because we have taken strong action against any allegation or any claim of criminal behaviour.”
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