Footage captures firebombing of Sydney construction boss’ home
Updated ,first published
The chief executive of a major Australian construction company has firebombed his Sydney home in the latest in a series of horrific arson attacks in the country’s construction industry.
Emergency services were called to George Bardas’ home in Putney in the early hours of Thursday following reports of a white SUV on fire in his driveway.
Fire and Rescue NSW arrived at the scene and extinguished the fire, and the occupants of the home were evacuated as a precaution.
No one was injured.
“Police have located the scene and an investigation has been launched into the cause of the fire,” NSW Police said in a statement on Thursday.
“Initial investigations indicate that the fire is suspicious.”
Bardas is chief executive of Hansen Yuncken, one of the country’s largest construction companies, with projects including public hospitals and Sydney university campuses.
Video showing arsonists smashing the window of a white car in the driveway and pouring a red jerry can of fuel into the driveway of the house was posted online and distributed through SCN WorldStar, an independent media channel focusing on Sydney’s underworld.
The attackers lit the gas and shouted “Damn you, George!” They run shouting.
The text overlaid on the video states that this is “a message to George Bardas and other builders who want to play dirty.”
“Stay away from our game and we’ll stay away from yours.
“If you keep testing the waters, you will face repercussions.”
There is no allegation that Bardas was involved in any crime, only that he was a victim of crime.
The firebombing is a replica of arson attacks that have also targeted high-profile and senior executives of major construction companies in Victoria.
Last year the imprint revealed three horrific attacks on the homes of construction company executives while their families were inside.
Unlike this firebombing in NSW, Victorian state police have set up a special task force called Hawk to investigate fires and other organized crime activity in the construction industry.
NSW police have resisted establishing a taskforce similar to Hawk, despite a spate of incidents across the state.
In February, the imprint revealed how Sydney crime figures were suspected of being behind a daring bribery scheme allegedly aimed at silencing the victim of ongoing NSW construction industry riots linked to major state and federal government facilities.
The victim was offered $50,000 in cash in an envelope in exchange for withdrawing allegations that NSW construction industry figures were responsible for a months-long effort to intimidate and target the families of construction workers, according to allegations reported to detectives.
These efforts included a firebombing outside the Sydney home of a CFMEU organizer in 2025. In this attack, the organizer’s car was set on fire.
Persistent firebombing of the country’s construction industry also raises questions about the adequacy of the Albanian government’s industrial cleanup; This led to the CFMEU being placed into administration in 2024 due to allegations of infiltration of organized crime.
Since Victoria Police’s Task Force Hawk launched in March 2025, it has resulted in the arrest of numerous organized crime figures, former union officials and company owners suspected of corrupting the construction industry. It is also proactively targeting construction industry figures suspected of wrongdoing.
In NSW, state and federal authorities have neither launched a task force nor funded a major police-led construction industry effort against organized crime, despite repeated calls for action from KC, CFMEU executive director Mark Irving said.
The country’s trade union and employer body watchdog, the Fair Work Commission, has also previously called on law enforcement to focus more on crime and corruption in Australia’s construction industry.
As of Friday, the firebombing of Bardas’ home was the responsibility of Ryde police and investigations were ongoing.
Hansen Yuncken has been contacted for comment.
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Nick McKenzie is an Age investigative journalist who has been named the Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year three times. The winner of 20 Walkley Awards, including the Gold Walkley, he explores politics, business, foreign affairs and criminal justice.Connect via email.
