Former top Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) official Joe Myles boasted of having a 'direct line to Jacinta Allan’s office' during a meeting about a level-crossing removal project, a former union organiser has told the Victorian royal commission into the building industry.
Paul Tzimas told the commission that Myles, his former boss, also threatened to lobby the state government not to award the project’s builders a contract for Melbourne Airport rail if they did not agree to union demands during the June 2022 meeting at union headquarters.
The demand included appointing union-favoured labour hire and traffic management firms. Tzimas said he was surprised by the claim of influence over Allan, who was then minister responsible for the government’s transport project agenda. A spokesman for Allan declined to comment.
The meeting was called after the union shut down the $110 million Gap Road level-crossing removal project in Sunbury for two days. The hearing was told that John Holland managers had accepted the union’s demands within 10 minutes.
Tzimas, who is no longer a CFMEU official, also gave evidence about helping a former Bandidos sergeant-at-arms, Jonny “Two Guns” Walker, gain work on the upgrade of the City Loop after Walker had served eight years in prison for manslaughter. Tzimas said he filled in an official union letter to the Adult Parole Board advising that Walker would be employed on a Melbourne construction site.
The hearing also examined connections between the construction sector, the union and organised crime, including bikies. Tzimas said he once had his ankle fractured by men he believed to be bikies working for a developer, and that his colleague Ronnie Buckley suffered a broken eye socket and teeth. The assault occurred at a private development site in Hawthorn.
Tzimas accepted under cross-examination that the union had helped men with confirmed or alleged bikie links gain roles as health and safety representatives or organisers in some cases.
He said he never aimed to be hostile but that 'robust debates about safety' were unavoidable, maintaining that all his actions were in the interests of worker safety. He described WorkSafe as 'fundamentally broken for working people'.
WorkSafe senior inspector Quinton Drury told the hearing that he was met with aggression during a CFMEU stoppage on the West Gate Tunnel in 2019, and that the union tended to raise safety issues during time-critical stages of projects.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The royal commission is probing allegations of corruption and organised crime links in Victoria's construction industry, which accounts for billions in government infrastructure spending.
- The claims of direct political influence could have implications for the Allan government and its oversight of major transport projects such as Melbourne Airport rail.
- Evidence of bikie ties and violence raises broader questions about worker safety and the rule of law on construction sites.
Background
The royal commission into the 'Big Build' was established after the Building Bad scandal, which led to the sacking of Joe Myles in mid-2024. Myles was heavily criticised in a Queensland commission of inquiry. The current hearings are examining the CFMEU's conduct on major projects, including alleged intimidation of workers and links to organised crime.
Key Perspectives
Joe Myles (through former official Tzimas’s evidence): Myles is alleged to have claimed a direct line to the minister’s office and threatened to lobby the government against awarding a rail contract.
Paul Tzimas (former CFMEU official giving evidence): He says he was surprised by Myles’s claim of influence and that he never aimed to be hostile, but that robust safety debates are unavoidable.
WorkSafe (through inspector Quinton Drury and chief health and safety officer Samuel Jenkin): Drury says Tzimas was aggressive and that the union raised safety issues during time-critical stages; Jenkin’s submission identified a pattern of such behaviour.
John Holland: The company accepted the union’s demands within 10 minutes of the meeting.
What to Watch
- Whether the royal commission will recommend criminal charges against any union officials or managers.
- The fate of the Melbourne Airport rail project and other major infrastructure contracts.
- Any further evidence of direct political pressure or improper relationships between the union and government ministers.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 10 supported.
Show each claim
- Partly supportedMyles said the exact words “direct line to Jacinta Allan’s office”.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: ““There was a mention that, or words to the effect, about sort of having a ‘direct line to Jacinta Allan’s office’,” Tzimas said.”
- SupportedTzimas told the commission that Myles boasted of a direct line to Allan’s office.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “Former top construction union boss Joe Myles boasted of having “a direct line to Jacinta Allan’s office” during a pivotal meeting about control of a level-crossing removal project, a former union official claims.”
- Partly supportedMyles threatened to lobby the state government not to award the builders an airport-rail contract if they did not meet union demands.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “Tzimas told the hearing that Myles, his boss, told two John Holland managers that if their consortium did not agree to the union’s demands – which included appointing union-favoured labour hire and traffic management firms – it could jeopardise their prospects of working on airport rail.”
- SupportedThe meeting followed a two-day union shutdown of the $110 million Gap Road level-crossing project in Sunbury in June 2022.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “The meeting on June 7, 2022 was called after the union had shut down the $110 million Gap Road level-crossing removal project in Sunbury for two days”
- SupportedTzimas said he was surprised by the claimed influence over Allan, who was then the minister responsible for the government’s transport project agenda.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: ““I was probably surprised because I didn’t feel or think that as a union we had that type of influence.” Elizabeth Doidge and Joe Myles. At the time, Allan was the minister responsible for the government’s substantial transport project agenda.”
- SupportedJohn Holland accepted the union’s demands within 10 minutes.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “The meeting lasted no more than 10 minutes, but when it was over, John Holland had accepted the union’s demands.”
- SupportedTzimas gave evidence that he helped former Bandidos sergeant-at-arms Jonny “Two Guns” Walker get work on the City Loop upgrade after Walker served eight years in prison for manslaughter.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “Tzimas, who is no longer a CFMEU official and currently not working, told the hearing he helped Walker gain work on the upgrade of the City Loop.”
- SupportedTzimas said men he believed were bikies working for a developer fractured his ankle, and that Ronnie Buckley suffered a broken eye socket and teeth in the assault.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “he once had his ankle fractured by men he believed to be bikies working for a developer, while his then-union colleague Ronnie Buckley suffered a broken eye socket and teeth”
- SupportedTzimas accepted that the union had helped men with confirmed or alleged bikie links become health and safety representatives or union organisers in some cases.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “Carr asked if the union had helped these men gain roles as health and safety representatives or as union organisers, to which Tzimas agreed that it had in some cases”
- SupportedTzimas said “robust debates about safety” were unavoidable.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “although he never aimed to be hostile, “robust debates about safety” were unavoidable.”
- SupportedTzimas described WorkSafe as “fundamentally broken for working people”.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “Victorian regulator WorkSafe, he said, was “fundamentally broken for working people”.”
- SupportedDrury told the hearing that he was met with aggression during a CFMEU stoppage on the West Gate Tunnel in 2019, and that safety issues arose more often or more intensely when time-critical work was due.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “He said Tzimas was one of two union organisers occupying the slew zone of a crane, forcing works to stop. “I made all attempts to try to engage and find out what the safety issue is, but I was met with aggression.””