When Ben Carroll took the helm of Victoria’s government, his first act was to announce a royal commission into the state’s Big Build projects. The inquiry, formally titled the Royal Commission into the Integrity of Major Public and Civil Infrastructure Construction Projects, is set to begin two weeks of public hearings on Monday morning, right in the middle of the state election campaign.
Carroll’s decision to launch the commission has been hailed by some as a bold move toward greater integrity. “Ben Carroll has shown political courage setting up a royal commission whose proceedings will no doubt be painful not only for his predecessors but his party,” said former state ombudsman Deborah Glass, who had called for an inquiry in June before Jacinta Allan’s resignation.
However, the timing of the hearings could prove politically costly. Labor insiders warn that the two‑week window could expose damaging stories that may undermine the party’s campaign. “If there are bad news stories, Ben will be up in the media and we will not change our plan,” a senior Labor source told the Guardian. “He’ll say ‘I set this up, I want answers’. Ben is owning it. The campaign will own it.”
For the opposition Coalition, the hearings present an opportunity to highlight alleged corruption and criminal infiltration of public construction projects. The commission’s proceedings will inevitably bring past actions of Carroll’s predecessors into the spotlight, a narrative the Coalition is poised to exploit.
Carroll himself has limited control over the commission’s schedule and the witnesses called. “I want to be a premier that did what he said he would do on integrity,” he said when he entered Government House after the writs for the election were issued. The commission’s early submissions, some of which have already been aired in the media, have already begun to stir controversy.
As the hearings commence, all eyes will be on how Carroll balances the demands of the inquiry with the pressures of an election campaign. His ability to navigate this complex situation could ultimately determine whether the commission becomes a catalyst for reform or a political liability.
Source: The Guardian World
Read the original article
Editorial note: This is an original news report prepared from the attributed source material with AI assistance. It is not a reproduction or translation of the original article.
