Underworld figure Mick Gatto attended CFMEU meeting after construction site assaults, Big Build royal commission told

Former Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) official Paul Tzimas told Victoria’s Big Build royal commission that underworld figure Mick Gatto attended a meeting arranged after Tzimas and a colleague were seriously assaulted at a construction site. The testimony matters to an inquiry examining the integrity of major public and civil infrastructure projects, including links between union officials, builders and people connected to outlaw motorcycle gangs.

Tzimas said he suffered a fractured ankle, while his colleague sustained a broken eye socket, dental damage, partial loss of vision and severe post-traumatic stress disorder. About a week after the assault, builders arranged for Gatto, whom Tzimas said worked to resolve project disputes, to attend a meeting with union officials; Gatto later gave him a gold bracelet, which Tzimas initially declined but eventually accepted as an olive branch. The commission also heard that 11 of 15 men named by counsel were, according to Tzimas, both union members and affiliated with bikie gangs, and is examining the Gap Road level crossing project in Sunbury.