Latest news with #RoadsAustralia
Sydney Morning Herald
11-05-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Timelines for swath of Victorian construction projects blow out
On the road network, the duplication of the Western Highway between Ballarat and Stawell still has no firm completion date despite being slated for 2021. The government's Big Build website says planning for the final section is still under way. Another project renewing sections of the Great Ocean Road, forecast to be completed this year, is expected to be four to six months behind schedule after already being pushed back from as far back as 2020. The Big Housing Build, a 2020 state government commitment to build 12,000 social and affordable homes over four years, is now forecast to be completed in 2028. The government says the $6.3 billion project will now deliver 13,300 social and affordable homes, with work on 10,100 complete or under way. A government spokesperson said the auditor-general's report was a 'snapshot in time' and information was provided 12 months ago. Other delays outlined in the report are no longer accurate and have not been included in this article. Loading 'Since then, works have progressed, with Victorians reaping the benefits from these vital major projects across the state,' the spokesperson said. Opposition major projects spokesman Evan Mulholland said the government's management of projects had become a 'slow-motion disaster'. 'Victorians pay the price with added costs and delayed projects because we have a government that rewards union thuggery instead of demanding accountability,' Mulholland said. Improvements to Victoria's male prison system capacity, first forecast for 2023, are also delayed and unlikely to stay within budget because of black mould infestations affecting hundreds of new beds at Barwon Prison in Lara and the Metropolitan Remand Centre in Ravenhall. The Department of Justice and Community safety is currently negotiating with the contractors of the prison project and argues the works were not completed to standard. Infrastructure Australia's market capacity report, published in December 2024, said investment in transport projects was falling as billions of dollars more in funding flowed to energy and housing projects. Chief executive Adam Copp said at the time that the nation's infrastructure ambitions were being challenged by skills shortages, stagnant productivity growth and the rising costs of materials. 'Construction materials on average cost around 30 per cent more than they did three years ago, and with ongoing skills shortages we simply don't have the people power we need to get the job done on time – our analysis shows 7 per cent of the pipeline, or $15 billion of planned construction work, has been hampered by project delays,' Copp said in the report. Loading Copp said projects would also shift into regional areas and northern Australia, which would bring other challenges in attracting workers and supplying materials. Roads Australia chief executive Ehssan Veiszadeh has previously warned of the impact of delays, particularly those linked to union action. The peak body's members reported that repeated construction delays and poorer working environments added 30 per cent to the total costs of projects. 'On major public infrastructure worksites, workplace safety has not only been undermined – it has been weaponised,' Veiszadeh said. 'Worksites have been shut down for spurious reasons, sometimes costing up to $5 million a day. Often industrial action has targeted critical works such as concrete pours, which can have a cost impact of tens of millions of dollars.' This masthead's Building Bad investigation has detailed allegations of serious misconduct across government sites over the past year, including allegations gangland-linked figures were receiving large payments from companies on publicly funded projects looking to gain favour with figures within the CFMEU.
The Age
11-05-2025
- Business
- The Age
Timelines for swath of Victorian construction projects blow out
On the road network, the duplication of the Western Highway between Ballarat and Stawell still has no firm completion date despite being slated for 2021. The government's Big Build website says planning for the final section is still under way. Another project renewing sections of the Great Ocean Road, forecast to be completed this year, is expected to be four to six months behind schedule after already being pushed back from as far back as 2020. The Big Housing Build, a 2020 state government commitment to build 12,000 social and affordable homes over four years, is now forecast to be completed in 2028. The government says the $6.3 billion project will now deliver 13,300 social and affordable homes, with work on 10,100 complete or under way. A government spokesperson said the auditor-general's report was a 'snapshot in time' and information was provided 12 months ago. Other delays outlined in the report are no longer accurate and have not been included in this article. Loading 'Since then, works have progressed, with Victorians reaping the benefits from these vital major projects across the state,' the spokesperson said. Opposition major projects spokesman Evan Mulholland said the government's management of projects had become a 'slow-motion disaster'. 'Victorians pay the price with added costs and delayed projects because we have a government that rewards union thuggery instead of demanding accountability,' Mulholland said. Improvements to Victoria's male prison system capacity, first forecast for 2023, are also delayed and unlikely to stay within budget because of black mould infestations affecting hundreds of new beds at Barwon Prison in Lara and the Metropolitan Remand Centre in Ravenhall. The Department of Justice and Community safety is currently negotiating with the contractors of the prison project and argues the works were not completed to standard. Infrastructure Australia's market capacity report, published in December 2024, said investment in transport projects was falling as billions of dollars more in funding flowed to energy and housing projects. Chief executive Adam Copp said at the time that the nation's infrastructure ambitions were being challenged by skills shortages, stagnant productivity growth and the rising costs of materials. 'Construction materials on average cost around 30 per cent more than they did three years ago, and with ongoing skills shortages we simply don't have the people power we need to get the job done on time – our analysis shows 7 per cent of the pipeline, or $15 billion of planned construction work, has been hampered by project delays,' Copp said in the report. Loading Copp said projects would also shift into regional areas and northern Australia, which would bring other challenges in attracting workers and supplying materials. Roads Australia chief executive Ehssan Veiszadeh has previously warned of the impact of delays, particularly those linked to union action. The peak body's members reported that repeated construction delays and poorer working environments added 30 per cent to the total costs of projects. 'On major public infrastructure worksites, workplace safety has not only been undermined – it has been weaponised,' Veiszadeh said. 'Worksites have been shut down for spurious reasons, sometimes costing up to $5 million a day. Often industrial action has targeted critical works such as concrete pours, which can have a cost impact of tens of millions of dollars.' This masthead's Building Bad investigation has detailed allegations of serious misconduct across government sites over the past year, including allegations gangland-linked figures were receiving large payments from companies on publicly funded projects looking to gain favour with figures within the CFMEU.
Herald Sun
30-04-2025
- Business
- Herald Sun
Union thuggery adds billions to major Victorian projects
Don't miss out on the headlines from Victoria. Followed categories will be added to My News. Up to $3 billion is being added to every $10bn worth of major projects due to 'weaponised' industrial relations and poor productivity, a peak transport body says. In a significant intervention just a few days ahead of the federal election, Roads Australia has called for whoever forms government to address construction woes that are 'impacting living standards and putting unnecessary pressure on already constrained government budgets'. Roads Australia chief executive, Ehssan Veiszadeh, said direct shutdowns of public sector mega projects due to union stop works could cost up to $5m a day. Overall, productivity problems could cause delays of many months and building giants looking to invest in Australia were adding up to 30 per cent to total budgets as a result. Mr Veiszadeh pointed the finger at union militancy which has helped cripple productivity, including through the use of intimidation and threats of violence to achieve industrial outcomes. 'On major public infrastructure worksites, workplace safety has not only been undermined – it has been weaponised,' Mr Veiszadeh said. 'Often industrial action has targeted critical works such as concrete pours, which can have a cost impact of tens of millions of dollars. 'In the context of an unprecedented shift in geopolitics, a cost-of-living crisis and significant budgetary pressures, it is essential that we have an industrial relations environment that is productive and provides certainty of time and cost.' Last year the Albanese Government put the CFMEU into administration, with investigators finding the union had been infiltrated by bikies and underworld figures. The Herald Sun this month revealed that union figures and allies remains in control of the Big Build, which triggered an appeal to construction giants by Victorian Infrastructure Development Authority boss Kevin Devlin to dob in figures of 'ill repute' and report bad behaviour. Mr Veiszadeh said boosting productivity was 'not incompatible with fair remuneration and conditions' but required workplaces where mutual respect enabled quick outcomes to be reached between employers and employees. Mega projects in Victoria have been battered by budget blowouts in recent years. This includes the West Gate Tunnel, which is $4bn over budget, and the Metro Tunnel, which is $4.5bn over budget. The North East Link, which is the most expensive road project in Victoria's history and will connect the M80 in Greensborough to the Eastern Fwy in Bulleen, is set to cost $26.1bn after being initially priced at $15.8bn. In recent years a pipeline of major projects in Victoria has slowed, albeit from record highs. 'Whether it is transport, housing, health, energy or social services, poor productivity outcomes will leave us unable to pay for the infrastructure our communities need,' Mr Veiszadeh said.
