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Photo via The Sydney Morning Herald
Big Build royal commission LIVE updates: Witnesses on controversial Gap Road project continue after counsel assisting lashes government
Abbott, L. (2026, November 12). Big Build royal commission LIVE updates: Witnesses on controversial Gap Road project continue after counsel assisting lashes government. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/big-build-royal-commission-live-updates-witnesses-on-controversial-gap-road-project-continue-after-counsel-assisting-lashes-government-20261113-p61dux.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed
Abbott, Lachlan. “Big Build royal commission LIVE updates: Witnesses on controversial Gap Road project continue after counsel assisting lashes government.” The Sydney Morning Herald, 12 Nov. 2026, https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/big-build-royal-commission-live-updates-witnesses-on-controversial-gap-road-project-continue-after-counsel-assisting-lashes-government-20261113-p61dux.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed.
Abbott, Lachlan. “Big Build royal commission LIVE updates: Witnesses on controversial Gap Road project continue after counsel assisting lashes government.” The Sydney Morning Herald, November 12, 2026. https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/big-build-royal-commission-live-updates-witnesses-on-controversial-gap-road-project-continue-after-counsel-assisting-lashes-government-20261113-p61dux.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed.
Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.
The Sydney Morning Herald
· collected 2026-11-12 · by Lachlan Abbott
Quick Summary
This blog post reports on a live update from the Big Build royal commission regarding the controversial Gap Road project. Counsel assisting Chris Young, KC, criticized the Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority (VIDA) for submitting a book of handwritten notes by former CEO Evan Tattersall that were almost entirely blacked out. The post highlights that these redacted notes were submitted on November 7, which was more than two weeks after the commission requested the information and only two days before hearings began.
Written by AI on 2026-11-14,
from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).
The Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority (VIDA) has received a "blistering dressing down" from a royal commission into corruption on major public projects for obstructing the inquiry's work. Counsel assisting the commissioner, Chris Young, KC, revealed that the authority submitted "plainly redacted material" that was crucial to the investigation, including a notebook of handwritten notes by Evan Tattersall, the former chief executive officer of Rail Projects Victoria. The commission noted that one version of the notebook was almost entirely blacked out and was submitted on November 7, which was more than two weeks after the information was requested and just two days before hearings began. Commissioner Chris Kourakis, AC, stated that the late provision of this information disrupted the orderly investigation and the pursuit of specific lines of inquiry. The unredacted documents eventually revealed that the authority was concerned that any further work stoppages at the Gap Road level crossing removal site would require the project to be extended by many months. Additionally, the inquiry was hampered by the late disclosure of 2022 text messages from senior public servants regarding work stoppages and the CFMEU at the Sunbury project. These actions were described as "profoundly disappointing" given the public importance of the commission and the cooperation promised by Premier Ben Carroll.
Written for “Victorian Big Build inquiry” on 2026-11-14,
grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
strongly criticised
leftuses a strong verb to characterize the opposition to the government agency
redactions that took out relevant material
leftframes the agency's actions as an intentional removal of important information
covered-up notes
leftuses 'covered-up' to imply a deliberate attempt to hide information from the public/commission
Reading
Leans left(beta estimate)Confidence
medium
Leaning: leans left for article 149496 (medium confidence, 3 verified quotes) · logged 2026-11-14
How they differ
2 outlets covered “Victorian Big Build inquiry”.
What each outlet says
One AI summary per outlet of its latest article on this story, written from that article alone and checked against it. Open the article for the outlet's own words.
Sydney Morning HeraldThis outlet12 Nov
Counsel assisting the commissioner criticized the Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority (VIDA) for obstructing a royal commission investigation into the state’s construction industry by providing heavily redacted documents and delaying information requests. The authority’s actions, including submitting crucial documents weeks late and unexplained blackouts in critical materials like handwritten notes from Rail…
Counsel for the royal commission into major public projects reported that the Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority (VIDA) provided a late disclosure of 2022 text messages involving former senior advisor Matt Toner and VIDA chief of staff Matthew Phelan. The inquiry focused on these messages, which directly concern work stoppages and the CFMEU at a Sunbury level crossing project, as well as a government…
“The articles describe different phases of the royal commission hearings related to the Gap Road project, with Article A referring to the beginning of witness testimonies and Article B to a later phase involving criticism of redactions.”
“The articles describe different hearings at the royal commission, with Article A focusing on safety concerns at the Sunbury level crossing removal project and Article B on criticisms of redactions related to the Gap Road level crossing removal project.”
“The articles describe different aspects of the ongoing royal commission, with Article A focusing on redactions and criticisms of VIDA, while Article B focuses on a warning given to a contractor by the minister’s office.”
“The articles discuss different aspects of the Big Build royal commission hearings, with Article A focusing on the Sunbury level crossing removal site and alleged threats, while Article B focuses on the Gap Road project and redactions in documents.”
Leans left
Hedges 2 of 22 claimsOutlet record 61/100
“The articles describe different stages of the royal commission, with Article A covering the commission's initial release of statistics and potential future evidence from Jacinta Allan, while Article B focuses on specific criticism of the Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority regarding document redactions for the Gap Road project.”
Leans strongly right
further right than thisHedges 1 of 32 claimsOutlet record 61/100
“Article A describes the donation of companies to the Labor party and subsequent involvement in the Gap Road project, while Article B discusses criticism of redactions in documents related to the Gap Road project during a royal commission. Although both articles reference the Gap Road project, they describe different specific events.”
“The articles describe different aspects of the royal commission hearings; one focuses on a CFMEU official's testimony about a union boss's boasts, while the other discusses criticism of the Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority for redactions.”
The court heard Deer later asked four labour hire companies if they would pay for their logos to be plastered on the donated vehicles, as he sought to recoup cash.
The shock decision is set to be referred to the royal commission into the building industry amid questions about why the state Labor government has failed to act on repeated police requests first issued in 2014 – and most recently again this year – to toughen laws to force gangland figures out of the construction sector.
“Detectives will allege in court the three males – one allegedly armed with a pistol – entered the home and confronted Mr Tapia, before he was fatally shot,” NSW Police said in a statement on Wednesday.
In a phone call played in court, a friend could be heard contacting Triple Zero to ask for an ambulance before changing his mind as others in the background told him to hang up.
Premier Ben Carroll revealed last month that former South Australian chief justice Chris Kourakis would lead today’s royal commission into the building industry.
The woman also applied for bail, which police opposed as they say her mental health could not be adequately supervised by her parents while she awaits her trial.
As mentioned earlier in this blog, counsel assisting Chris Young, KC, strongly criticised the Victorian Infrastructure Delievery Authority (VIDA) yesterday for redactions that took out relevant material from documents it was forced to disclose to the commission.
asserted
it → mention → commission
You can see the covered-up notes that Young complained about below:
asserted
Young → see → that
Young tabled two versions of a book of handwritten notes by Evan Tattersall, the former chief executive officer of Rail Projects Victoria (later rebadged as VIDA), which contained entries about the Gap Road level crossing removal project, which is the subject of the current block of hearings.
asserted
which → table → hearings
One version of the notebook was almost entirely blacked out, and Young noted that it was submitted to the commission on November 7, more than two weeks after the commission requested information from VIDA about Gap Road, and just two days before hearings began.
asserted
hearings → black → Road
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