July 8, 2026 — 6:10pmQueensland unions have warned the state government’s anti-worker agenda could bog 2032 Olympic Games venue construction in a legal quagmire likely to drive delays and cost blowouts.The state’s labour movement warned a CFMEU inquiry proposed state building code revealed on the weekend would overlap and undercut federal laws covering project deals struck between contractors and unions.Queensland Council of Unions general secretary Jacqueline King said this, along with recent actions from a “deranged” Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie, showed a “blind agenda of ideology” to attack workers’ rights.Queensland Council of Unions general secretary Jacqueline King (centre) at a media conference with other union officials to draw a “line in the sand” on the Crisafulli LNP’s industrial relations agenda.Matt Dennien“It’s very clear to me that the deputy premier has been itching to have a fight with the trade union movement,” King said on Wednesday at a media conference fronted by figures from most major affiliated unions.“If he wants to have that fight, we will stand and fight on behalf of workers, but we will fight to protect workers,” King said, noting existing concerns about the intention of workplace law reviews and the CFMEU Inquiry.“He wants to fight to have an ideological war that has no place in any of this. It’s not going to help Queensland move forward, it’s not going to help the Olympics.“He’s the one who, I think, is effectively declaring war. We’re not. Let’s see what he’s got.”With the Commonwealth fronting $3.4 billion across 17 new and upgraded venues as part of a joint $7.1 billion deal with the state, King said she has raised concerns about the draft code’s impact with the federal government.The group called the media event after a union council executive meeting in which they discussed the purge of union figures from key workplace boards, the draft code, and Wednesday’s comments from Bleijie.These had been first provided to News Corp in a story which suggested Bleijie would ban firms with CFMEU agreements from tendering for Olympic venue work. His office had since tried to walk back talk of a “ban”.In a statement, Bleijie said there would be site-specific agreements for venue works which would be likely to include multiple unions.“The Crisafulli government will consider any recommendations made by the CFMEU Commission of Inquiry,” he said, with the government committed to restoring safety and productivity to sites.Industry figures have been broadly supportive of a new state building code and independent regulator. On Wednesday, Civil Contractors Federation Queensland chief executive Damian Long reiterated this.“We are hopeful that the current government embraces this approach going forward through any proposed code,” Long said in a statement. “We await the detail of any proposed code but note other positive examples of codes working across Australia”.But King said the draft code, which the inquiry has sought feedback on and is yet to formally be presented as a recommendation to the government, would have the effect of banning firms with CFMEU deals.This is because the guidelines, which would apply to firms tendering for state government-funded building and construction work exceeding $2 million, outlaw many elements contained in existing CFMEU agreements.These include paid time off for union activities and non-working workplace delegates. But the draft guidelines would also ban “direct or indirect pressure on another party to make over-award payments”.Any firm tendering for larger construction projects of more than $10 million, or civil infrastructure work of more than $20 million, with such agreements would need to show boosted productivity or cost outcomes despite this.Significant parts of the draft code would also need to be adhered to on the privately funded work of firms seeking government tenders. Broader details in the inquiry document also float adherence by “related entities”.King said she had written to federal Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth raising concerns about the impact of the draft code on the Fair Work Act and projects with federal funding.“We have to wait to see if they, you know, put that procurement code into place, we have to wait and see what state legislation will support that code,” King said.“So there’s a lot of ifs there, [but] once that actually happens, that could trigger a whole range of legal challenges, which could include constitutional challenges, it could include administrative law challenges to the Supreme Court. There could be, as I say, a lawyer’s picnic on this.”Rishworth’s office was contacted for comment.Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.From our partners