Treasurer Eric Abetz has defended the decision to keep the Constructure Joint Venture, which includes Italian construction giant Webuild, in the race to build Hobart’s $1.13 billion Macquarie Point stadium.
Abetz today dismissed calls from the Greens to terminate the bid over criminal safety charges Webuild is facing in New South Wales.
“We do have a legal system that says innocent till proven guilty and that is something that the Greens and others might like to consider as well,” Abetz said.
The Constructure Joint Venture brings together Webuild, China Construction Oceania and McConnell Dowell. It is one of two shortlisted bidders, alongside BESIX Watpac.
The Greens want Webuild dumped from the tender process after the company was charged by the NSW safety regulator over a serious workplace incident on the Snowy 2.0 project.
According to The Australian, a senior Webuild manager allegedly ordered workers to keep running a tunnel boring machine despite it being broken, causing a large drill bit to fall on two men in October 2022.
The charges allege the workers could have been killed.
Webuild has pleaded not guilty and the case will be heard over three weeks in July.
Greens Treasury spokesperson Vica Bayley said the bid “must be terminated”, arguing Webuild appeared to have failed to disclose the court proceedings as required under the stadium expression of interest process.
Abetz told reporters the government needed to stay at arm’s length from the procurement process, saying professional probity advisers had cleared both shortlisted bidders to proceed.
“The Greens and Kristie Johnston don’t want the stadium built and so they are looking for any possible excuse to derail it,” he said.
The Macquarie Point Development Corporation said it understood the matter was being contested by Webuild.
“These charges have only just been outlined and could not have been declared at the time of the EOI assessment,” a spokesperson said.
The corporation said the status of the investigation would be considered when tenders are received and bids are assessed, with the assessment process expected to run through to October.
However it is understood the charges date back to 2024 over an incident in 2022.
Abetz acknowledged workplace safety was “one of the absolute top priorities for the government” but said there were “too many imponderables” to act on allegations alone.
Independent MP Kristie Johnston has also questioned the company’s involvement.
The 23,000-seat stadium is a condition of Tasmania’s entry into the AFL from 2028, with the government aiming to award the contract by the end of 2026.
