Carlton Supporters Club

I see hope in countries starting to work together without the US - we'll see how it all goes!

The Victorian and Federal Governments appear untouchable despite fark up after fark up.
Locally I'd like to think Wilson will give it a good shake leading up to November but once Labour start with the playing the man (or woman) muck raking  tactics, the Victoria public seem just lap it up.

A 15 year old and a 17 year old had a fight in a Geelong shopping centre last week. The 15 year old stabbed the 17 year old and he’s in hospital with critical injuries.

The police tracked the 15 year old down and he appeared in court charged with the stabbing and committing an offence while on bail.

The magistrate released him on bail 🙄

Where did that $15bn figure come from?

Watson described the figure as a “very rough” estimate based on the opinions of “highly qualified stakeholders”.

Given the Big Build was worth roughly $100bn and industry sources told Watson that cost blowouts linked to CFMEU conduct ranged between 10% and 30%, he settled on an estimate of 15%, describing it as “not unreasonable” and “probably conservative”.

“From there the maths is simple – the leadership of the CFMEU has cost the Victorian taxpayer something like $15bn,” the redacted chapter reads. “There is another point to this – as will be seen, much of that $15bn has been poured directly into the hands of criminals and organised crime gangs.”

The Fair Work Commission’s general manager, Murray Furlong, later told Senate estimates the $15bn figure was “consistent with what I’ve heard from officials from the Victorian government”.

However, David Hayward, an emeritus professor of public policy and the social economy at RMIT University, said there “doesn’t seem any reason to believe criminality was as financially significant” as the redacted Watson chapters suggest.

He said overruns were largely due to increased materials and equipment costs, and issues at particular projects.

“What I don’t understand is why [Watson] went down the exaggeration path when he already established a strong case around corruption and criminality, and he really didn’t have to put an estimate in,” Hayward said.

The economist Saul Eslake said the engineering construction implicit price deflator – a measure of price growth used by Australian Bureau of Statistics – showed costs in Victoria went up by 36.8% between December 2014 and September 2025.

But this was lower than New South Wales at 37.4% and national figure of 41.7%.

“All the talk is that Victoria has become a much more expensive place to build and yet the data tells me a different story,” he said.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/feb/16/cfmeu-victorian-branch-15bn-cost-estimate-explained-administrator-report-ntwnfb

Quote from: DJC – on February 22, 2026, 12:34:23 pm

A 15 year old and a 17 year old had a fight in a Geelong shopping centre last week. The 15 year old stabbed the 17 year old and he’s in hospital with critical injuries.

The police tracked the 15 year old down and he appeared in court charged with the stabbing and committing an offence while on bail.

The magistrate released him on bail 🙄

The 15 year old was back in court and was remanded in custody, as he should have been in the first place!

I'm not generally in favour of mandatory sentencing or bail laws as I believe that magistrates and judges require discretion to administer justice fairly to all.  However, if someone commits a violent crime or offends while on bail, there would have to be a very persuasive argument put forward before bail became a consideration.

The $15bn allegedly ripped off by the CFMEU has become a major issue for the Victorian Government but how exactly was that figure arrived at?

Quote

Where did that $15bn figure come from?

Watson described the figure as a “very rough” estimate based on the opinions of “highly qualified stakeholders”.

Given the Big Build was worth roughly $100bn and industry sources told Watson that cost blowouts linked to CFMEU conduct ranged between 10% and 30%, he settled on an estimate of 15%, describing it as “not unreasonable” and “probably conservative”.

“From there the maths is simple – the leadership of the CFMEU has cost the Victorian taxpayer something like $15bn,” the redacted chapter reads. “There is another point to this – as will be seen, much of that $15bn has been poured directly into the hands of criminals and organised crime gangs.”

The Fair Work Commission’s general manager, Murray Furlong, later told Senate estimates the $15bn figure was “consistent with what I’ve heard from officials from the Victorian government”.

However, David Hayward, an emeritus professor of public policy and the social economy at RMIT University, said there “doesn’t seem any reason to believe criminality was as financially significant” as the redacted Watson chapters suggest.

He said overruns were largely due to increased materials and equipment costs, and issues at particular projects.

“What I don’t understand is why [Watson] went down the exaggeration path when he already established a strong case around corruption and criminality, and he really didn’t have to put an estimate in,” Hayward said.

The economist Saul Eslake said the engineering construction implicit price deflator – a measure of price growth used by Australian Bureau of Statistics – showed costs in Victoria went up by 36.8% between December 2014 and September 2025.

But this was lower than New South Wales at 37.4% and national figure of 41.7%.

“All the talk is that Victoria has become a much more expensive place to build and yet the data tells me a different story,” he said.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/feb/16/cfmeu-victorian-branch-15bn-cost-estimate-explained-administrator-report-ntwnfb

So Watson's guestimate has got people outraged when the facts of the matter, according to independent, conservative and highly respected economist, Saul Eslake, present a very different story.

Of course, this isn't a defence of the CFMEU; an organisation that should have been stamped on well before Albo took action.

If you’re on stalkbook, look up “Mr Cucumber” he ran this on Monday.
Investigation… absolutely required, crimes committed… possibly… A headline screamed from the rooftops, totally !

8 million dollar Medicare fraud committed by detainees at the Melbourne immigration centre and they were given Visa's and bail plus allowed out into the community. Detainee tip...So if you are being detained at an Immigration centre the easy way out is to commit a crime and thus win your freedom.

Quote from: ElwoodBlues1 – on February 25, 2026, 03:25:21 pm

8 million dollar Medicare fraud committed by detainees at the Melbourne immigration centre and they were given Visa's and bail plus allowed out into the community. Detainee tip...So if you are being detained at an Immigration centre the easy way out is to commit a crime and thus win your freedom.

I would take anything Senator James Paterson says with a grain of salt.

The former immigration detainees were granted Criminal Justice Visas; a standard procedure when immigration detainees are charged with criminal offences or required to give evidence in a trial.  Depending on the outcome of the court cases, the former detainees will be imprisoned and then deported or returned to immigration detention, then deported.