Queensland's CFMEU inquiry is far from over, but the man leading the sprawling investigation into alleged union misconduct has already heard enough.
More than a year before his final report is due, Commissioner Stuart Wood KC has declared an "urgent and pressing" need for reform.
Months of public hearings, nearly eight million documents and testimony from more than 80 witnesses have laid bare explosive claims of violence, intimidation and improper union influence.
The evidence has been "extensive and highly disturbing", in the commissioner's own words, prompting him to issue a 167-page warning shot while proceedings are still underway.
In an interim report, tabled in parliament this week, Commissioner Wood called for a strict new building industry code and a dedicated watchdog to enforce it.
Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie said the government was considering the two key recommendations, describing the findings as a "line in the sand" for the construction industry.
"We are going forward. We're going forward with a productive construction industry, a safe construction industry and not one that is at the behest of the demands and the abuse that we've seen by the CFMEU," he said.
Commissioner Wood's assessment exposed another troubling consequence — the staggering cost to taxpayers.
He was scathing of the former Labor government's controversial Best Practice Industry Conditions (BPIC) policy, describing it as "damaging".
