An integrity expert says Jacinta Allan blaming “inflationary pressures” rather than corruption for cost blowouts on the state’s $100bn Big Build is “nonsense”, as the Victorian premier resists growing calls for a royal commission.Allan on Monday declared that “inflationary pressures on projects is not corruption” after Nine newspapers and 60 Minutes reported allegations that money from the state’s Big Build infrastructure projects was being paid to gangland figures and that the state government was warned about cost blowouts due to Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) demands.Geoffrey Watson SC, a director of the Centre for Public Integrity who was appointed by the CFMEU administrator to investigate allegations of corruption and criminal offences within the union, said solely blaming inflation was “nonsense”.“Inflation may have some sort of a role but it’s a relatively minor one, and in any event standard inflation rates would have been built into the earlier estimates as they always are,” he said.Watson reiterated his calls for a royal commission, saying it was the only way to address the corruption.“It’s time to stop making excuses and to address the issue,” he said.Nine’s Building Bad investigation reported that infrastructure companies repeatedly warned the Victorian government between 2022 and 2024 that CFMEU demands had inflated labour costs on the Metro Tunnel.Sign up for the Breaking News Australia emailThe leaked consortium’s report, referenced in Nine’s investigation, warned the state government about cost blowouts by 22% above what would be required under existing industry norms in Victoria. It estimated $196.4m of its labour costs were driven wholly by union-backed staffing and outlined how contractors were forced to add on additional non-productive workers.The consortium stated it caved to the CFMEU’s demands with the Labor government’s backing, Nine reported.Allan was the minister who oversaw the state’s Big Build program between 2018 and 2023 before becoming premier. Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Allan said she had not read the consortium’s report.Referring to the reporting about the Metro Tunnel, Allan said union members cost more because their wages came with “better” and “safer” conditions.“That is a cost, but that is a cost that is about supporting those workers to do this work to deliver projects,” she said.Allan said “fair wages” for union workers were part of the inflationary pressures on projects like the Metro Tunnel.“Inflationary pressures on projects is not corruption,” she said.Asked about Watson’s assessment on 60 Minutes that he had not seen evidence the premier had held herself responsible for allegations of corruption and criminal wrongdoing on government worksites, Allan said “he is wrong” and pointed to the action her government had taken.The premier said she was confident Victoria police and the Labour Hire Authority had been given sufficient powers to address any wrongdoing, saying over the last two years the authority had cancelled 164 construction industry licenses while police had laid 93 charges.“After all this time, if there is any evidence of any allegation of criminal behaviour that includes corruption and extortion, I don’t understand why that wouldn’t immediately be reported to Victoria police,” she said.The Nine investigation also revealed that money from the state’s Big Build infrastructure projects continues to flow to gangland figures after an almost two-year attempt by the government to clean up corruption.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionAsked if corruption was still occurring on the Big Build, Allan said she accepted that allegations had been made and that those who “claim to have evidence” should refer it to Victoria police.Allan defended her administration, saying: “There is no evidence of government corruption on the Big Build.”Victoria’s opposition leader, Jess Wilson, on Monday said Nine’s reporting demonstrated that “the corruption continues to happen today”.