Victims of threats, violence fear coming forward, say police probing construction corruption

Corruption within the construction industry has gone unchecked for so long because people haven’t felt safe enough to come forward, says the head of Victoria Police’s specialist taskforce into the sector.

Police say they believe the firebombings of two properties linked to the construction industry in Melbourne’s western suburbs were acts of intimidation.

A still from CCTV footage of two cars ablaze in Maribyrnong on April 6.Credit: Victoria Police

Taskforce Hawk, established to investigate corruption in Victoria’s building industry, released CCTV footage on Monday of an attack as it appealed for information on fires in Maribyrnong and Derrimut this year. Both are believed to be related and connected to the construction industry.

Taskforce Hawk was created in July 2024 in response to the Building Bad investigation by this masthead, The Australian Financial Review and 60 Minutes, which exposed widespread criminality within the construction industry, including bashings, firebombings and intimidation tactics.

Police have so far laid one charge – relating to threats to kill – as part of these investigations, and the taskforce’s head, Detective Acting Inspector Ross Mitchell, asked for patience on Monday as authorities stack up evidence of alleged crimes.

In some of his most detailed public comments as the head of the taskforce, Mitchell said organised crime had clearly infiltrated the construction sector, but change was slowly taking place. Cultural issues were a key factor in addressing corruption and criminality, he said.

“It’s a very unique environment from the point of view that there has been this sort of behaviour going on unchecked for a long period of time because people haven’t felt safe to report the crime to law enforcement authorities,” Mitchell said.

“What I’m hoping is that we get an outcome from it [people coming forward] and that the outcome will encourage people to start co-operating and feeling safe to report it.

“The sense I’m getting is that the industry is sick of it, and I think that they want the change as well, and this is an opportunity.”

Mitchell appealed for information as police released CCTV footage of two people setting two cars on fire outside a house in Scenic Drive, Maribyrnong, in the early hours of April 6.

A still from CCTV footage showing the car believed to have been involved in the Derrimut fire on May 27.Credit: Victoria Police

Police believe there is a connection between that attack and a May 27 factory fire in Calarco Drive, Derrimut, that began about 5.30am.

At the time, this masthead revealed the Derrimut fire had targeted construction company El Dorado Contractors and was the second firebombing against the company in a fortnight.

The blaze came one week after revelations of an escalating campaign of firebombings and intimidation targeting homes of company directors and government worksites.

Mitchell said on Monday that police were still unsure about the motivation behind the attacks but believed they were related to intimidation.

“It’s usually a message when these sorts of offences are committed, and on many occasions, it’s committed by people who are paid to do it, similar to what’s happening in the [Taskforce] Lunar space with the tobacco wars,” he said.

“It’s a very difficult space to work in because there’s traditionally been a wall of silence and fear.

“I won’t say that there’s necessarily one player. It just seems to be the crime of choice in relation to dealing with corruption, criminality in this sector because it has such a severe impact, and it causes such fear.”

Mitchell defended the investigation’s pacing, and said police were taking on complex investigations that took a long time.

He said bad behaviour in the industry was not confined only to the CFMEU.

“The resources that we do have in the technology that we have doesn’t mean that these things happen quickly,” Mitchell said.

“I believe that we need to be patient and we need to do things thoroughly. It’s very easy to accuse, but it’s a bit different to prove something.”

Mitchell said the taskforce was reviewing many fires to see if they were connected, but would not say how many.

“There are so many possibilities when it comes to arson and how dangerous that crime is because the targets blow up,” he said.

“It could be innocent people who try and do something to protect the property, whether it be a neighbour or otherwise. Fire is catastrophic.

“We are keen to know who may have been involved in lighting the fires, and also who may be responsible for directing them.”

Taskforce Hawk was previously named Operation Hawk before its status was changed in July this year.

Premier Jacinta Allan has repeatedly insisted that her response to 14 months of Building Bad revelations, including Labor’s moves to boost law enforcement powers and back CFMEU administrator Mark Irving, KC, is adequate.

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