On a Wednesday in Melbourne, a former union official who has since left the movement and is now without work sat before a royal commission and described a gold bracelet, a violent assault, and an uneasy truce between men who were supposed to be on opposite sides of a building site. It is one more thread in the long and tangled story of how public infrastructure gets built in Victoria, where the line between representation, pressure and favour has often been hard to see. Whether the bracelet was a gift, a gesture of reconciliation or something more calculated is a question the commission has no
Former CFMEU official tells Big Build royal commission Mick Gatto gave him a gold bracelet after site assault
Tzimas suffered a fractured ankle in an assault, and a colleague was left with a broken eye socket, dental damage, severe PTSD and partial vision loss.
On a Wednesday in Melbourne, a former union official who has since left the movement and is now without work sat before a royal commission and described a gold bracelet, a violent assault, and an uneasy truce between men who were supposed to be on opposite sides of a building site. It is one more thread in the long and tangled story of how public infrastructure gets built in Victoria, where the line between representation, pressure and favour has often been hard to see. Whether the bracelet was a gift, a gesture of reconciliation or something more calculated is a question the commission has now been asked to weigh.
On Wednesday, Paul Tzimas, a former CFMEU official who left the union in January and is now unemployed, told Victoria's royal commission into major infrastructure construction how he came to receive a gold bracelet from Mick Gatto. He is the first union-linked witness to appear before the inquiry, and his account opens a window onto the pressures that surround building sites.
Tzimas described an assault at a construction site in which he and a colleague were badly hurt. He suffered a fractured ankle. His colleague was left with a broken eye socket, damaged teeth, severe PTSD and partial loss of vision. He could not say precisely where or when it happened, though he believed those responsible may have been linked to an outlaw bikie gang.
A week or so later, a meeting was held between union officials and builders, and Gatto attended. Tzimas said Gatto was known for smoothing out problems on developers' projects. The bracelet followed. Tzimas first refused it, then accepted after Gatto explained that because he had said no, it was not meant as a favour. Gatto, he said, admitted he had judged Tzimas too harshly, and the bracelet was an olive branch. Tzimas never wore it, and he knew other officials had received them too.
The hearing also touched on a union letter supporting a manslaughter convict's parole and job prospects, and on a list of 15 men, 11 of whom Tzimas agreed were union members tied to bikie gangs. The commission's November focus will be the Gap Road level crossing project in Sunbury, where union action halted work before it resumed after a June 2022 meeting at CFMEU headquarters. The hearing, before commissioner Christopher Kourakis, continues.
On Wednesday, Paul Tzimas, a former CFMEU official who left the union in January and is now unemployed, sat before a Victorian royal commission and described how he came to be given a gold bracelet by Mick Gatto. He is the first witness connected to the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union to appear before the royal commission into the integrity of major public and civil infrastructure construction projects in Victoria.
Tzimas told the commission he and a colleague were seriously assaulted at a construction site by people linked to the builders and developers. He suffered a fractured ankle. His colleague was left with a broken eye socket, damage to his teeth, severe PTSD and partial loss of his vision. No other details were given about where or when the assault happened, though Tzimas agreed that he believed those responsible may have been linked to an outlaw bikie gang.
About a week later, he said, a meeting was called between union officials and the builders. The builders also arranged for Gatto to attend. Tzimas said Gatto was known to work for developers and builders to resolve problems with their projects.
The bracelet came afterward. Tzimas said he first refused it. Questioned by counsel assisting, Chris Carr, he agreed he knew it could be perceived as inappropriate for someone in his position to accept a gift from someone on the other side of the fence. He also agreed it was no worthless trinket. But after discussing with Gatto why he was being offered it, he decided to take it.
Tzimas recounted what he said Gatto told him: that because Tzimas had refused, it was not an attempt to earn any favour. Gatto, he said, admitted having had a poor opinion of him as an official and thought he had probably judged him a bit harshly. The bracelet was an olive branch, offered to people he considered friends. Tzimas said he never wore it. He added that he knew other union officials had also received gold bracelets from Gatto.
Carr also asked about a letter the CFMEU wrote for a man convicted of manslaughter who was seeking parole, confirming he would be offered employment. Tzimas said he was unclear why the union helped, but noted the man's father was a union delegate at the time, which probably held some sway. Carr then read out the names of 15 men and asked whether all were union members affiliated with bikie gangs. Tzimas agreed that 11 of them were.
The commission's November hearings are focused on the level crossing removal project at Gap Road in Sunbury, north of Melbourne. Tzimas attended the work site as part of union action that eventually halted construction. He also attended a meeting between project managers and union officials at CFMEU headquarters on 7 June 2022, which eventually led to work restarting. The commission has previously heard that in that meeting the union demanded its own health and safety representative, along with union-affiliated traffic management and labour hire companies, be installed on the project before work could resume.
The hearing, before commissioner Christopher Kourakis, continues.
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