Commissioner warns former government advisors, agencies not to conceal information

An former advisor to ex-premier Daniel Andrews has been named as a public servant who has "disrupted" the royal commission into public projects.

Counsel assisting the commission says the Big Build authority has made an extremely late disclosure of text messages from advisor to the premier, Matt Toner, which are directly about the issues it's been investigating all week.

The text messages have not yet been made public by the commission. The hearings continue.

A former advisor to ex-premier Daniel Andrews is among public servants accused by Victoria's Big Build royal commissioner of delaying his inquiry and flouting their legal obligations.

At the royal commission into alleged corruption on major public projects today, counsel assisting Chris Young KC said the inquiry was being thwarted by heavy redactions and last-minute submissions of key evidence.

Just two days ago, he said, the Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority (VIDA) told to the commission about text messages in 2022 from senior public servants directly concerning work stoppages and the CFMEU at a level crossing removal project in Sunbury the commission has been investigating all week.

"Those messages included reference to the PPO, which we understand to be a reference to the premier's private office, and some named individuals," Mr Young said.

"Steps are now being taken to secure evidence from those persons.

"I am not tendering those text messages now, but we will."

The messages were from Matt Toner, direct adviser to Andrews, and from Matthew Phelan, chief of staff to the director general of VIDA, Corey Hannett.

Mr Young said Mr Toner left his role under Mr Andrews some time in 2024.

"Around the time he left that position as an advisor to the premier he was referred to in notes of a delegates meeting at the CFMEU," he said.

Former Victorian secretary of the CFMEU John Setka described Mr Toner during that meeting as "a good asset to the union", he said.

The inquiry also heard a notebook belonging to government executive Evan Tattersall, was submitted by VIDA prior to the public hearings with all its pages blacked out.

Just this morning, as hearings were already underway, VIDA submitted a much less redacted version, after being compelled to do so, Mr Young said. The notes are about the same Sunbury level crossing project.

He also said there were other VIDA documents the commission had requested, which the agency had failed to submit.

Commissioner Chris Kourakis said late provision of information from government individuals and entities had "disrupted the orderly investigation" of the inquiry.

"I encourage, in the strongest terms, early, genuine and comprehensive disclosure, by all serving or former ministers and public servants, and their advisors," he said.

"A working rule along the lines 'if in doubt send it out' will also allow the recipient to meet their legal obligations to provide the information within the stipulated time."

Counsel assisting VIDA Richard Knowles apologised and said the agency would respond to the commission's requests as soon as possible.

The royal commission today also heard from several executives from construction firm John Holland and CPB contractors today, quizzing them on their dealings with the CFMEU in the civil (road and rail) projects.

Industrial relations general manager for John Holland, Trent Smith, told the commission by mid-2021 the business acknowledged it could only survive in Victoria if it formed an enterprise agreement for civil projects with the CFMEU.

Mr Smith said by that stage, a "hostile" relationship with the CFMEU was "touching all parts of our business".

He said it was a widely-held belief across the firm that the CFMEU had influence within the state government, compared to the alternative union for civil projects, the Australian Workers' Union.

"That's how we understood the relationship to be…it was a very clear position within John Holland," he said.

Therefore, engagement with the CFMEU became part of the company's broader strategy to "better position our business with the state government", he said.

John Holland signed an enterprise bargaining agreement with the union in August 2021.

Mr Smith said this was largely a symbolic gesture by then, given the company was already "at [the CFMEU's] mercy" via sub-contracted labour aligned with that union.

Senior civil engineer for John Holland, Wayne Donnelly, told the commission the work stoppage in June 2022 on the Sunbury level crossing was causing concern of major cost blowout, because of delays.

By April 2022, 95 per cent of civil contractors in Victoria had an enterprise agreement in place with the CFMEU, the commission heard.