{
  "id": 19032518,
  "title": "Big Build royal commission LIVE updates: Big Build project, CFMEU under microscope as state’s long-awaited construction royal commission begins",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/08/big-build-royal-commission-live-updates-big-build-project-cfmeu-under",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-08T22:33:59.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Sydney Morning Herald",
    "slug": "the-sydney-morning-herald",
    "url": "https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/big-build-royal-commission-live-updates-big-build-project-cfmeu-under-microscope-as-state-s-long-awaited-construction-royal-commission-begins-20261109-p61c7n.html?ref=rss"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "The first block of public hearings for the Royal Commission into the Integrity of Major Public and Civil Infrastructure Construction Projects in Victoria begins this week. The inquiry is expected to examine the role of former premier Jacinta Allan and her office regarding a controversial road and rail project, according to reports from The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.\n\nThe Victorian government's Big Build is a $100 billion construction initiative involving tunnels, railway stations, and new roads. ABC News AU reports that construction sites associated with the project have faced allegations of serious misconduct, corruption, and criminal wrongdoing. These allegations, first reported by Nine Newspapers in 2024, included claims that criminals and bikies acting as union delegates received hundreds of thousands of dollars on government-funded projects.\n\nFollowing the federal government's decision to place parts of the CFMEU into administration in August 2024, administrator Geoffrey Watson SC reported that the Victorian union had \"collapsed into a squalid mess.\" ABC News AU notes that Watson suggested organized crime may have cost Victorian taxpayers as much as $15 billion on Big Build projects.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "ABC News AU",
        "title": "Victoria's Big Build royal commission explained",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/08/victorias-big-build-royal-commission-explained",
        "published": "2026-11-08T20:06:58.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Age",
        "title": "Big Build royal commission LIVE updates: Big Build project, CFMEU under microscope as state’s long-awaited construction royal commission begins",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/08/big-build-royal-commission-live-updates-big-build-project-cfmeu-under-19032578",
        "published": "2026-11-08T22:33:59.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}