July 31, 2026 — 4:32pm
The author of a damning report into the CFMEU has repeatedly rejected suggestions it unfairly portrayed the union’s Queensland branch as violent or presented allegations as fact without sufficient foundation during a combative cross-examination on Friday.
Testifying at the Commission of Inquiry into the CFMEU and Misconduct in the Construction Industry in Brisbane, Geoffrey Watson SC, defended his methodology.
Counsel Ruth O’Gorman KC, appearing for former CFMEU officials Michael Ravbar and Kane Lowth, focused on the suggestion within Watson’s June 2025 report into violence within the Queensland CFMEU that Ravbar’s actions had caused a Queensland minister to receive police-recommended security upgrades.
O’Gorman suggested Watson’s own notes from an interview indicated the minister had been advised by a police commissioner to improve security without being told the intelligence underpinning that advice.
