Jacinta Allan refused to carry on with a press conference after snapping at a reporter and demanding she retract claims she appeared ‘disinterested’ when discussing the CFMEU.
The Victorian premier became locked in the showdown with Channel 10’s Jess Maggio on Thursday.
Allan had said alleged victims of the CFMEU corruption scandal should go to police when Maggio chimed in that the victims she had spoken to claimed they were scared to go to the authorities.
‘They don’t feel they can report it because they have already uprooted their lives for fear of people that are no longer in the CFMEU, but are controlling the CFMEU,’ she said.
‘You look disinterested.’
Allan demanded the journalist retract the comment and insisted she would not continue with the press conference until she had done so.
‘Can I ask that you retract that last comment,’ she said.
‘Well, Premier, I’m sorry, but—’ Maggio replied.
Jacinta Allan refused to carry on with a press conference after snapping at a reporter and demanding she retract claims she appeared ‘disinterested’ when discussing the CFMEU
‘No, no, no, you’re not,’ Allan hit back.
‘For this press conference to continue, I ask that you retract that last observation. I was merely considering my answer to your question.’
A second journalist asked a different question in an attempt to move, but Allan was having none of it.
‘No, no, no, because I’m not going to stand here and be accused of something I haven’t done, and I would ask that you retract,’ she said.
‘I’m happy to answer other people’s questions, but I can’t unless I have that very clear statement that this allegation of how I was behaving is retracted.
‘It’s up to you, if you’d only do it … I’ll take your silence as agreement that you have retracted your statement.’
It marks the second time in two days Allan has clashed with a reporter over the CFMEU.
On Wednesday, Allan cut off a journalist as they attempted to link her government’s Big Build infrastructure program with the corruption scandal.
Anti-corruption barrister Geoffrey Watson SC released findings estimating that CFMEU misconduct had inflated the cost of Victoria’s Big Build projects by roughly 15 per cent, about $15billion of taxpayer money
‘Given the Big Build’s role in corrupting the CFMEU, do you regret—’ Australian Financial Review political reporter Sumeyya Ilanby said, before Allan abruptly cut in with a rapid-fire response.
‘No, no, no, no, no, no, no, it is not,’ she interrupted, overruling the question before it could be completed.
Allan demanded the reporter rephrase their question, warning she would not ‘stand here and take questions on integrity’ unless they were based on evidence.
‘I would ask that you provide your questions in accordance with evidence and fact, not speculation that does nothing to support the work of the independent administrator,’ she reprimanded.
Anti-corruption barrister Geoffrey Watson SC released findings estimating that CFMEU misconduct had inflated the cost of Victoria’s Big Build projects by roughly 15 per cent, about $15billion of taxpayer money.
Watson’s 18-month investigation detailed alleged unlawful conduct on publicly funded worksites, including extortion, violence, drug dealing, bribery, and strippers being brought onto sites controlled by the union.
Parts of Watson’s report claimed the Victorian government ‘knew but did nothing’ as behaviour escalated, allegedly fearing industrial unrest if it intervened.
The CFMEU was placed into administration after the federal government intervened in mid‑2024, citing widespread criminal infiltration, unlawful conduct and systemic governance failures within the union’s construction division.
The union is currently being run by Administrator Mark Irving, installed by the Albanese government to clean up the union’s operations.
Allan has strongly denied accusations that her government allowed misconduct to flourish, arguing the claims were not properly tested and insisting she acted immediately once credible evidence emerged in mid-2024.
She reiterated her government holds ‘zero tolerance’ for behaviour described in the report and said she had referred all allegations to the appropriate authorities.
Her referral to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) in 2024 went nowhere, however, because the watchdog does not have jurisdiction to investigate contractors or third parties such as union officials or bikies.
Allan rejected accusations that she framed the referral so it would fail, though former IBAC commissioner Robert Redlich said she should have known about the limitations.
more to come
