Queen’s Wharf battle: Mourning day for QEII sparks $1m claim
Construction giant Multiplex’s legal battle over delays in the Queen’s Wharf project includes a claim for almost $1m in lost production due to the Queen’s death.
Construction giant Multiplex’s legal battle with Star Entertainment over delays in the Queen’s Wharf project includes a claim for almost $1m in lost production for giving workers a holiday to mourn the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
A law suit filed in the Brisbane Supreme Court this week against Star and its partners in the Destination Brisbane Consortium (DCB) is part of a broader demand for damages in relation to costs and delays in building the $2.8bn project in the Brisbane CBD.
Multiplex claims it lost two days of productive work, amounting to almost $1m, due to the death of the Queen when the CFMEU rescheduled a rostered day off to September 23 so it immediately followed the day of mourning holiday on September 22. That effectively gave workers a four-day weekend.
In the claim filed with the court, Multiplex said that neither the public holiday or the rostered day off could have been “reasonably foreseen” as the date of the death of the Queen was “not known”.
“Multiplex lost one day of productive work as a result of the public holiday,” according to the claim.
“Following the declaration of the public holiday, the CFMEU rescheduled a rostered day off from September 19 to 23. By reason of the rescheduling Multiplex lost a further one day of productive work.”
Multiplex also is claiming millions of dollars in additional costs due to two-years of disruptions caused by Covid-19 lockdowns. This included $2m for extra cleaning and other measures to ensure social distancing by workers on the site.
The integrated resort development in the heart of Brisbane faces cost overruns of at least $260m and an opening date more than a year behind the original schedule.
Star said on Monday it had been in “ongoing discussions” with Multiplex regarding disputed claims for the additional costs, extensions of time and damages.
The dispute began more than two years ago amid pandemic construction delays and is set to become an extended legal battle in the countdown to the planned opening next year.
DBC also has claims against Multiplex for damages in relation to delays in achieving key milestones under the contract. Star previously said the project would open at the end of this year, but this has now been pushed back to next April.
The construction contract with Multiplex had provisions for liquidated damages payable on failure to meet key milestones of about $360m. Liquidated damages are predetermined damages written into a contract. Multiplex is disputing it has to pay these damages and is claiming about $400m from the consortium.
**In response to the claim made in the court documents, the CFMEU said it has “absolutely zero say” in the declaration or timing of national holidays.
It said: “as is the case across most industries, including construction, there was a rostered day off (RDO) scheduled for the following week. That RDO was rescheduled by mutual agreement with builders and subcontractors so that only one week was affected by workers having approved time off. This rescheduling minimised disruption to work flows and gave workers a four day weekend. No extra time – beyond the one-off public holiday declared by the federal government – was taken off work.”
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