Another Week, Another Big Build Scandal: Secret Review Cover-Up Proves Only a Royal Commission Will Work
Family First Party
Jane Foreman - Family First Legislative Council Candidate
Key Facts:
KEY FACTS:
·The Herald Sun (19 July 2026) revealed a secret review ordered to clean up Big Build sites, conducted by former VicRoads boss John Merritt with union and industry consultation, took more than six months to be put into action.
·Labor MPs told the Herald Sun the reforms were delayed “with bureaucracy and interference,” with ministers bypassing the Premier’s office to push through changes such as a supply chain register and a register of approved industrial relations “fixers.”
·On Sunday 19 July 2026, Premier Jacinta Allan rejected calls for a royal commission into the Big Build, saying it would mean “delayed action, not immediate action.”
·In June 2026, Family First’s Jane Foreman called for a royal commission after former IBAC Commissioner Robert Redlich and former Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass both said only a royal commission could expose the full extent of corruption on the $109 billion Big Build.
·On 17 July 2026, Family First highlighted revelations that bikie-linked brothers Zack and Jake Boyer won subcontracts on a $94 million prison expansion and a $44 million social housing project opened by Premier Allan.
·The Government has refused to release the Merritt review in full.
·Victorians go to the polls in November, with Family First seeking to elect its first members to the Legislative Council.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
20 July 2026
Another Week, Another Big Build Scandal: Secret Review Cover-Up Proves Only a Royal Commission Will Work
Revelations that Premier Jacinta Allan’s own government sat on a secret corruption review for more than six months, with Labor MPs blaming “bureaucracy and interference,” show exactly why Family First says the Big Build cannot investigate itself — and why Victoria needs an independent royal commission.
The Herald Sun has revealed that a secret review ordered to clean up Big Build worksites, conducted by respected former VicRoads boss John Merritt and involving unions and industry, took more than six months to be put into action. Labor MPs have told the paper the reforms were delayed “with bureaucracy and interference,” with ministers now bypassing the Premier’s own office just to get basic changes through.
“A secret review sat on a shelf for six months while bikie-linked contractors kept winning government work. Labor MPs are now telling journalists their own Premier’s office is the problem. If the government can’t even implement its own review, how can anyone trust it to investigate itself?”
It is the latest in a string of Big Build scandals emerging almost weekly. Just last week, it was revealed how bikie-linked brothers profited from a prison expansion and a social housing project the Premier opened herself. In June, Ms Foreman called for a royal commission after former IBAC Commissioner Robert Redlich and former Ombudsman Deborah Glass both said only a royal commission could expose the full scale of corruption on the $109 billion program. A month on, the scandals keep coming — and now it is Labor’s own MPs confirming the government’s response is being smothered from within.
“Every week it’s a new scandal on the Big Build. Bikie brothers one week, a buried review the next. This isn’t bad luck, it’s a pattern. Jacinta Allan can’t keep telling Victorians to trust a process her own MPs say is being killed by bureaucracy and interference.”
On Sunday, before the latest revelations, Ms Allan rejected calls for a royal commission, claiming it would mean “delayed action, not immediate action.” Family First says the Herald Sun’s reporting proves the opposite is true — it is Ms Allan’s own government that has spent six months delaying action on its own review.
“The Premier says a royal commission would delay action. Her own government sat on its own review for six months and had to be dragged into acting by internal revolt. Every week the government self-investigates is another week a new scandal breaks. Victoria has run out of patience for Labor marking its own homework.”
Family First says Victorians cannot afford three more years of a government that buries its own reviews and denies royal commissions while a new scandal breaks almost every week. Ms Foreman is urging Victorians to use their vote in November to elect a strong Family First voice in the Legislative Council — one that will hold government to account and force the royal commission Labor has refused to deliver.
“Victoria needs checks and balances, not another Labor government marking its own homework. A strong Family First voice in the Legislative Council will back a royal commission into the Big Build and make sure public money is spent on families, not covered-up failures.”
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About us:
About Family First
Family First exists to restore Australia by restoring the primacy of the family in public policy. This will be achieved through a grass roots political party which raises courageous voices in our nation’s parliaments. More details are available on our website: https://www.familyfirstparty.org.au/
