昆士兰州对建筑工会CFMEU的调查委员会主席Stuart Wood严厉批评警方在布里斯班一次工会堵塞事件中的不当应对。[2]2024年3月13日，约15名CFMEU代表在Centenary Bridge升级项目的Gate One入口处进行阻挠，反对承包商BMD使用进口钢铁。[2]警察被召到现场，但未驱散任何工会官员，反而指示卡车离开，导致进口钢材未能交付。[1][2]
Wood表示，"警察的角色是维持和平，这意味着执法，意味着允许人们自由出入他们控制的场所，而不是容许一群阻挠者阻止自由出入。"[2]他进一步指出，"当时发生的是法治没有被适用、没有运行、没有在那一小时内发挥作用。暴民的统治运行了。"[2]Wood还批评警方"要么不理解自己的工作，要么被指示不执行工作"。[1]项目主管Leigh Hahn表示感到被"绞死了"。[1]BMD辩称其进口钢铁符合所有必要的监管和安全要求。[1]
The head of Queensland's inquiry into the CFMEU union has sharply criticized police for failing to enforce the law during a blockade at a major Brisbane construction project. On March 13, 2024, approximately 15 CFMEU representatives gathered at Gate One of the Centenary Bridge upgrade project to protest the use of imported steel by contractor BMD [2]. When police arrived at the scene, they did not disperse the protesters but instead instructed trucks to leave the site, preventing the delivery of imported materials and blocking two traffic lanes during peak hours [1][2].
Commissioner Stuart Wood KC argued that police had fundamentally abdicated their legal responsibilities. "The role of the police is to keep the peace, which means enforce the law, which means allow people free access and egress to the properties they control and not allow a group of blockaders to prevent free access," Wood stated [2]. He further remarked, "What happened there was the rule of law wasn't applied, didn't run, didn't operate in that hour. The rule of the mob operated" [2]. Wood suggested that officers either misunderstood their duties or had been instructed not to perform them [1].
The $353 million Centenary Bridge upgrade project has faced significant disruption from the dispute. Project manager Leigh Hahn described the situation as being "strangled," while BMD maintained that the imported steel met all necessary regulatory and safety requirements [1]. Nine CFMEU members have been identified in connection with the blockade [2].