Nobody measures 'Bandidos kickbacks': How construction costs took CFMEU centre stage The Victorian government's claims that corruption has not significantly driven up costs in its $100 billion Big Build program rely on a dubious assumption: that inflationary pressures from global events can be easily separated from the influence of union misconduct and organized crime.
Premier Jacinta Allan has repeatedly assured taxpayers and voters that the culture of graft within the construction industry is merely "rotten" but not costly to taxpayers, a claim that strains credulity.
Economists Saul Eslake and David Hayward have been cited as credible voices supporting this narrative, with Hayward arguing that changes in project scope and other factors are more likely responsible for cost blowouts than corruption.