7am Nick McKenzie on CFMEU corruption and Labor’s blind eye
Feb 16, 2026
Nick McKenzie, investigative reporter known for exposing corruption and organised crime in construction, discusses the scale of criminal infiltration into the CFMEU. He outlines shocking findings from an inquiry, explains why politically sensitive sections were deleted, and raises urgent questions about government awareness and accountability.
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Crime Scenes On Government Sites
- Nick McKenzie described bikies, organised crime and bribery operating on government construction sites.
- He also recounted allegations of drug trafficking and women forced to perform sex acts to secure work.
State Duty And The $15 Billion Conclusion
- Geoffrey Watson concluded the Victorian government had a duty to know about organised crime on projects and failed to act.
- Watson estimated up to $15 billion of taxpayer money was lost to corruption on those projects.
Report Redacted Before Publication
- Watson's report was unusually blunt and catalogued union and corporate corruption across projects.
- McKenzie said parts damaging to the Victorian Labor government were removed before publication.