00:01The first public hearing of the Royal Commission was held in a packed courtroom this morning
00:07and really we heard the scope of what this investigation and Royal Commission is going to look like going forward.
00:14We did learn though that the Commission has already heard some closed hearings behind closed doors.
00:21Commissioner Christopher Caracas said that was because of the secret nature of the hearings
00:26and the information they gleaned would inform investigations going forward.
00:31Now certainly Commissioner Caracas was very strong with his language this morning
00:36saying that government building sites were no place for racketeers who inflate prices and cheap workers
00:42and he also said there should be no tolerance for carpetbaggers or anyone whose moral compass had malfunctioned.
00:49The Commission heard that it will be looking at allegations of blackmail, harassment,
00:54misogynistic behaviour among other allegations of criminal behaviour on work sites.
01:00It's also the job of this Commission to pursue every person who is reasonably suspected of being complicit
01:08in the abuse of entrusted power for private gain and to expose and to refer for prosecution
01:16whoever is implicated by the evidence the Commission receives.
01:21The first pieces of evidence were also tendered to the Royal Commission and they included letters from senior public servants
01:29who worked on these sites to the then Transport Minister Jacinta Allen who went on to become Premier.
01:35So these were written in 2023 and they outlined concerns about criminal elements infiltrating these sites.
01:42They also outlined concerns that there was the potential for costs to blow out on the sites if this was
01:48to continue.
01:49Now the Royal Commission heard that Ms Allen read at least one of these briefings
01:54and that shortly after she wrote a letter to Victoria Police informing them about what she had heard.
02:00The Commission heard that what else Ms Allen knew and what other actions she took
02:04as well as the actions of other senior ministers will be the subject of the Royal Commission going forward.
02:10Question Wait What
02:10What
02:11What
02:11What
02:12What
02:12You
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