The Hon Tim Wilson MP
Shadow Minister for Small Business
Shadow Minister for Industrial Relations and Employment
Member for Goldstein

Wednesday 11 February 2026

Transcript - Interview on 3AW with Tom Elliott

Topics: CFMEU-Labor cartel

E&OE

Tom Elliott: Okay, so I mentioned all these allegations and this is not a victimless crime if it is a crime. I mean, $15 billion has been siphoned off by the CFMEU in the form of overcharging and passed through to organized crime, that's what's alleged. We as taxpayers are on the hook for that, and what is worse is that the investigative piece in The Age Today says that the state government knew about it. Our next guest is the Shadow Minister at the federal level for industrial relations. Tim Wilson, good morning.

 

Tim Wilson MP: Good morning, Tom.

 

Tom Elliott: This sounds pretty bad, doesn't it?

 

Tim Wilson MP: It isn't sounding bad, it is bad. What we have is a report that was commissioned by an independent corruption watchdog. What we've had is sections of the report redacted that were inconvenient in covering the relationship between the CFMEU and the Labor Party and the cartelish payments that have led to $15 billion of Victorian taxpayers' money being washed through a system that goes ultimately to organized crime.

 

Tom Elliott: And is it, I mean, do you believe that the Premier knew about this in real time or her predecessor, Daniel Andrews? Because the big build has been going on for a while.

 

Tim Wilson MP: There is zero doubt in my mind that the Premier knew about it and turned a blind eye. Only last year we saw evidence where emails were released from the Premier's office when she was the Minister responsible for the big build. It was brought to her attention that there were bike gangs and organized crime, infiltrating public projects and siphoning public Victorian taxpayers' money off. So all we are doing is seeing further details of what we already know in the Labor CFMEU Corruption Report.

 

Tom Elliott: Now, I think since around mid 2024, the Victorian branch and I think the federal branch of the CFMEU was put into administration, that is, new people were appointed to run it. Has that made any difference do you know?

 

Tim Wilson MP: Well, the short answer is no, the CFMEU head who was picked by the Albanese government has gone on and put people in positions who have since had to resign under allegations of corruption. We have a problem now where the systemic and endemic problems with the CFMEU and its connection to Labor Party are lived and real and out in the public square. And, frankly, the solution the government put forward is now looking like how they got the issues out of the media but kept the corrupt power structures in place, but this report has exposed just how endemic it is.

 

Tom Elliott: Systemic and organized it is. Well given that the big build isn't yet finished and the North East link is still going, does that mean that money is still being siphoned off and given to organized crime?

 

Tim Wilson MP: At this point you'd have to say, highly likely. We've had $15 billion, as far as this report says, from independent corruption watchdog claims so far. But these projects continue on. We know the Premier is refusing to act, do anything about it, and of course is turning actively a blind to the transfer of public money into the hands of bike gangs and organised crime.

 

Tom Elliott: See, one of the problems I've had, just leaving the corruption aside, is that the Labor Party is funded to the chin, collectively, of hundreds of millions of dollars, state and federally, by the unions. So, you know, if someone is paying you a lot of money, you're going to be un-inclined or dis-in-clined to sort of investigate them for corruption. I've never understood how that's allowable in our political system.

 

Tim Wilson MP: Well, it's actually a system of corruption that not even the mafia could design because it's so much of it's sanctioned by law. Unions give money to Labor to get into office. They then use office to reward the unions, take 10% or 12% of every worker's salaries and force it into funds that they control and they run to finance projects where they take money out through marketing expense and everything else to fund Labor to stay in office. It is a corruption cartel kickback circle of life and it's all sanctioned by law. This is what we're living with which is why the only way to fix it is you must get Labor out of government.

 

Tom Elliott: Well, let's just say at a federal level, you turn around things and you are elected and you become the Minister for Industrial Relations. What would you do? Would you deregister the CFMEU as occurred a couple of generations ago to the old Builders Laborers Federation? What would do? 

 

Tim Wilson MP: At this point, I don't think that's actually an answer. You had the BLF, they were deregistered. You then had the CFMEU. You've got the same endemic problems. I think we need a sustainable solution, which is more than just an ABCC, the Australian Building and Construction Commission. You have to change the whole culture of the industry to get an alignment of incentives. But a pretty basic starting point is stop funding projects knowingly involving bikey gangs, organized crime sanctioned by the CFMEU and ultimately supported by the government.

 

Tom Elliott: Now, speaking of winning future elections, is there going to be a leadership contest later this week?

 

Tim Wilson MP: The short answer is I don't think so. Today we've got the President of Israel in Canberra. We have one of the most explosive examples of corruption between the CFMEU and the Labor Party and I think everybody's focus is on those things, not on the other 'sound and light' that goes on sometimes in this building. So Angus Taylor's not going to challenge Susan Ley? Only one person can answer that and that isn't me, but I would think that every single Liberal MP should be focused squarely on holding Labor to account for this redacted CFMEU Labor corruption report today because $15 billion of Victorian taxpayers money has washed out of the pockets of taxpayers and into the hands of organized crime of bikey gangs.

 

Tom Elliott: Okay, look, as a Victorian taxpayer and you're a taxpayer in Victoria too, I mean, I just, I subject A: fifteen billion dollars of overruns, and B: that money being cyphoned off into organized crime. It's like what's happening with the tobacco industry, but even bigger. I mean can we, can the Premier be investigated or charged? I mean is there any legal action here?

 

Tim Wilson MP: Well, the question is, where is the Anti-Corruption Commission at a state and a federal level? This is the most systemic form of corruption in this nation's history, certainly modern history, and we have these anti-corruption bodies seemingly sitting on their hands. The evidence is out there, the media is revealing it, are they going to take a of investigation hold the Premier and the Ministers to account.

 

Tom Elliott: Well how about this, how about if you are elected, once you've had your leadership speculation and whatever in a couple of years, would you go after the then former Premier of Victoria or the Premier and perhaps have her investigated?

 

Tim Wilson MP: We should absolutely use every avenue to go after the corruption of the Premier or the corruption of any Minister who has abused public trust in this way. But it comes down to the institutions and the levers you have available to you. Labor has done such a good job at trying to cover up the history of the CFMEU Labor corruption problem and the cartel that operates. You've seen this literally in a report today where sections about the cartel-ish relationship was removed and redacted. We need, you know, there are a lot of questions that need to be answered, including whether what legal pathway is going to be taken to hold people to account.

 

Tom Elliott: All right, thank you, Tim. Tim Wilson, Shadow Minister for Industrial Relations.