CFMEU Bypassed Safety Channels, Regulator Faced Chaos

0:00It's April 15th. Welcome in. This is Sydney News Today, where local news meets AI. I'm Corey with the story. Queensland's big inquiry into work site corruption is zeroing in on how the CFMEU union sidestep normal safety complaint channels by phoning straight to the top of the workplace regulator. This practice wrecked the whole system for logging serious issues, turning proper processes into chaos. The probe kicked off last year under the Christopher Lee government, sparked by reports from this paper and 60 minutes exposing crime and misconduct in. The union and building sector. After five weeks of hearings from industry bigwigs, it's now drilling into regulatory capture with case studies like Cross River Rail, inspectors testified earlier this year about the breakdowns and folks are feeling the heat on how it lets safety slip through the cracks. No formal records meant trivial gripes got top level attention while real dangers might have been ignored. This week senior counsel laid it out, a third ex-regulator testified Wednesday morning followed

1:02by Serena Wise, the executive director for compliance. Then Thursday former deputy director general turned current trade department head who admitted he basically ran a call center jotting down union emails on non urgent stuff. Meanwhile past evidence showed one key figure had a tight personal tie to the XCFMEU state president under corruption wash dogs. The inquiry rolls on peeling back layers of influence in Queensland's construction world.