Flyers, court orders and cameras at the gate. The CFMEU hearings are back and the questions aren't going away.
The CFMEU hearings are back in days. But after what came out in March, this is no longer just background noise. Flyers, surveillance and court orders. Something about this is not sitting right.
What was happening at site entry points is now under the spotlight.
During the hearings, flyers handed out in 2019 across Brisbane’s CBD were put under the microscope.
They claimed workers and even pedestrians were being exposed to asbestos, and that conditions were sitting near minimum wage.
But when the details were unpacked, the picture looked different.
The project had active asbestos management protocols in place and mandatory training, while workers were reportedly earning around $43.60 an hour against an award rate closer to $27.
Those same flyers also raised concerns about how workers’ personal data was being handled on site.
Four years later, a Federal Court order restricted CFMEU representatives from photographing or recording anyone entering or leaving Cross River Rail sites, with breaches carrying serious legal consequences.
That is not two separate stories.
That is the same story… four years apart.
“It became pretty standard practice to put misinformation into the marketplace”
What was said… and what was happening
What these hearings are starting to show is how different pieces sit side by side.
On one hand, strong public messaging around safety and conditions.
On the other, evidence that may soften or directly challenge those claims once everything is looked at more closely.
There is no final call yet.
But it is already shifting how this situation is being read on site and across the industry.
And this is not where it ends
More hearings are locked in between April 14–16 and 21–23, with more witnesses and more evidence expected, including people directly tied to site work and negotiations.
What has already come out has opened questions.
What comes next might start answering them… or make things harder to ignore. Either way, this is not slowing down.
And on site, people are already paying attention.
Because this time, the questions are not going away.
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The CFMEU hearings are back in days. But after what came out in March, this is no longer just background noise. Flyers, surveillance and court orders. Something about this is not sitting right.