Do right thing or pay a price: Daniel Andrews to China-link group

Daniel And­rews has issued a warning to the Chinese-linked building consortium on his trouble-plagued West Gate Tunnel Project.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews in Melbourne on Thursday. Picture: AAP

Victorian Premier Daniel And­rews has issued a warning to the Chinese-linked building consortium on his trouble-plagued West Gate Tunnel Project, telling them their conduct on the current job “will very much determine” whether they win tenders for ­future jobs.

The threat comes as the state government faces pressure over a dispute over toxic soil — which has led to hundreds of workers being stood down from the $6.7bn road project — and amid negoti­ations over a cost blowout that could amount to as much as $3bn with the consortium building Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel rail project, budgeted at $11bn.

The common link in both projects­ is building company John Holland, wholly owned by the world’s largest highway and bridge design and construction company, the Chinese state-owned China Communications Construction.

Mr Andrews did not refer to John Holland by name, and his warning comes as his government faces criticism over its Belt and Road agreement with China, with a mid-2020 deadline looming for both parties to agree on key investmen­t details.

While the West Gate Tunnel Project is managed by road toll company Transurban, John Holland­ and ASX-listed company CPB Contractors each have a 50 per cent stake in the building consortium.

The Cross Yarra Partnership consortium building the Metro rail tunnel comprises John Holland­, Australian multinational Lendlease and infrastructure fin­ancier Capella Capital, and French multinational Bouygues.

John Holland is also part of a consortium bidding for the ­Andrews government’s $16.5bn North East Link road project.

Asked on Thursday whether he was concerned about job losses on the West Gate Tunnel, Mr ­Andrews said he was “always concerned if any Victorian loses their job”, but blamed “Transurban and their builder” for redundancies.

“We want a speedy resolution to some of the challenges that that project has faced, contaminated soil and things of that nature,” he said. “We’re confident we can get there, and there’s talks going on at the moment, there’s a power of work going on at the moment to try and resolve those issues.

“These tactics won’t work though, trying to blackmail the government into sorting the problem that is Transurban’s problem.

“That simply will not work, and that is my message to builders, my message to Transurban.

“While I’m sending messages to builders, I’ll just make the point: your conduct on this job will very much determine whether you win tenders for future jobs. That’s just logic. Your character, your good behaviour or otherwise, will be a relevant factor when we come to making decisions about who builds other projects.”

Asked whether that would rule John Holland out of contention for the North East Link, Mr And­rews said: “No. I’m simply making a point that no one should think that you can just behave as you see fit, using whatever tactics you like, and not have that conduct reflect­ on you later.

“It absolutely will.

“We don’t just look at price — we look at the way people conduct themselves.”

Asked whether the government was likely to strike an agreement with the Metro consortium on the cost blowout on that project before the end of the financial year, Mr Andrews said discussions were ongoing. “We’ll have it finalised whenever we can get it ­finalised. I won’t put a timeline on it,” he said, adding that the project — due to be completed in 2025 — was ahead of schedule.