Matthew Guy accuses Richard Wynne of being bullied by unions over Grocon refusal

Claims have been made that the new Victorian Planning Minister Richard Wynne had been bullied by the trade union movement into knocking back the Spring Street apartment tower planned by Grocon in the Melbourne CBD.

Wynne acted against the advice of his department, according to claims by the opposition leader and former Planning Minister Matthew Guy.

Matthew Guy claimed the Construction, Mining, Forestry and Energy Union (CFMEU) bullied Richard Wynne to refuse permission for construction of the 43 level tower at 85 Spring Street.

Grocon has been locked in a state of fierce workplace relations war over several years with the CFMEU.

Guy said Wynne's decision had been made after his chief of staff met with union officials about the project.

“Dick Wynne needs to explain why he failed to take his own independent departmental advice and reject a project weeks after his staff met Grocon’s arch enemy the CFMEU,” Guy said.

The 335 apartment project in a sensitive area close to the Bourke Hill heritage zone was ruled as too high and too close to other buildings within the precinct.

Melbourne City Council had not been keen for permission to be granted.

Despite acknowledging on ABC radio that the union had raised its opposition to a CBD tower during a meeting with his chief of staff whilst he himself had been sick, Wynne denied any suggestion that the union had influenced the decision in any way, the website Sourceable noted.

“Any representations that the CFMEU may have made, they were in relation to a pipeline of works for their employees, and any suggestions that the CFMEU played any role in my decision-making is completely wrong and false,” he said.