Queensland Building Regulator Inquiry Hears Allegations of Misconduct in Public Office
A Queensland inquiry into the CFMEU and construction industry has heard evidence suggesting former Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) commissioner Brett Bassett may have committed misconduct in public office by directing staff to target contractor Watpac under pressure from a minister and union-linked board members. Former QBCC licensing manager Graham Easterby testified that Bassett admitted being pressured by then-minister Mick de Brenni and board chair Dick Williams to pursue licensing action against Watpac, with a colleague relaying Bassett's alleged comment that the effort was because Watpac had not signed an enterprise bargaining agreement with the CFMEU. Inquiry commissioner Stuart Wood flagged the evidence as potentially constituting both a Fair Work Act contravention and misconduct in public office, raising serious questions about regulatory independence and union influence over government bodies.
At the tenth public hearing block of Queensland's Commission of Inquiry into the CFMEU and Misconduct in the Construction Industry, former QBCC licensing manager Graham Easterby gave extensive testimony alleging that ousted CFMEU leader Jade Ingham — who was also appointed to the QBCC board in 2018 — and board chair Dick Williams, a former state Labor president, directed commissioner Brett Bassett to investigate and take licensing action against contractors including Watpac without valid grounds. Easterby described Bassett as repeatedly refusing to put such directions in writing, saying words to the effect of 'I can't do that' or 'I'm not putting that in writing,' which Easterby and his superior Ian Grant interpreted as an acknowledgment that the actions may have been unlawful or outside the regulator's scope. Counsel assisting the inquiry outlined a theory that the CFMEU had 'captured' both the QBCC and Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, enabling a so-called 'double whammy' whereby union-directed safety inspectors would issue enforcement notices against targeted contractors, which the QBCC would then use as grounds for licensing action. Easterby and three colleagues resigned together in July 2021 after what he described as a vexatious complaint against them, and he subsequently referred the matter to the Crime and Corruption Commission; he told the inquiry CCC investigators indicated the complaint would not progress while the then-Labor government remained in power. Former WHSQ head Kym Bancroft also gave evidence, describing a workplace culture of compromised independence and detailing her own dismissal in April 2023, with her then-director-general telling her 'there is a union group that is unhappy with you' — a termination she received after only around eight months in the role despite efforts to curtail CFMEU influence, including shutting down a union complaints hotline to the workplace safety regulator.
What's missing
The inquiry has not yet heard from Brett Bassett, Jade Ingham, Dick Williams, or Mick de Brenni directly; their responses to these allegations are absent from the current reporting.
How coverage differed
Both the Sydney Morning Herald and ABC Australia reported the core facts consistently and neutrally. The SMH provided somewhat more procedural and legal detail, including the specific Fair Work Act framing used by Commissioner Wood, while the ABC placed slightly greater emphasis on the personal accounts of witnesses and the cultural survey findings at the OIR.
What different sources said
- Sydney Morning HeraldCenter
Former building regulator boss might have committed misconduct: inquiry
- ABC AustraliaCenter
Former Qld Labor ministers accused of political interference at CFMEU inquiry
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