‘IBAC is silent’: Shadow Attorney-General slams watchdog over Operation Richmond
Victoria’s shadow Attorney-General has launched a scathing attack on the new boss of IBAC, accusing her of sleeping on the job as he demanded answers over a secretive probe into the state’s fire services.
Victoria
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Victoria’s anti-corruption watchdog has been accused of sleeping on the job in a scathing parliamentary attack by the state’s shadow Attorney-General.
Michael O’Brien on Wednesday slammed Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission boss Victoria Elliott as a political appointment and called on her to bring to an end the long-running probe into the amalgamation of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade and Country Fire Authority into Fire Services Victoria.
Dubbed Operation Richmond it has been one of the most secretive operations in the history of IBAC and has involved scores of witnesses being called before secret hearings.
It is understood it began after a complaint was lodged over government dealings with the militant United Firefighters’ Union (UFU).
Conversations with members of the government, and its support for the ALP forms part of the intercepted material, are understood to have been key to the probe.
Senior government MPs including former premier Daniel Andrews emerged as figures of interest during the investigation.
“Where does Operation Richmond stand? Nobody seems to know because IBAC is silent,” Mr O’Brien said.
“The most recent state budget increased the fire services property levy by over $600m, Victorian families forced to pay these higher taxes deserve to know if their money is being wasted or worse by the Labor government and their mates in the UFU.
“I call on IBAC Commissioner Elliott to finalise Operation Richmond or at least assure Victorians it is still being actively pursued and not swept under the carpet, as the Labor government and the UFU so desperately want to occur.”
Ms Elliott was announced as the new IBAC commissioner in October, filling the vacancy left by former boss Robert Redlich.
She had previously served a seven-year stint as a Deputy Public Interest Monitor.
She also worked as a managing lawyer at IBAC from 2013 to 2016 following eight years at the Office of Police Integrity.
But Mr O’Brien accused Ms Elliott of doing little to detect and deal with corruption.
“In these past eight months we have heard next to nothing from IBAC about its investigations into serious corruption in this state,” he said.
“Under its new Labor-appointed commissioner IBAC appears to have taken a vow of silence.
“That might suit the political interests of a tired and dodgy Labor government, but it is not in the public interest.
“Corruption flourishes not only in darkness but also in silence.”
An IBAC spokesperson said the agency was working towards finalising the report on Operation Richmond.
“Much of IBAC’s work is not done in public,” he said.
“This is important to ensure confidentiality of the information we receive.
“Where IBAC intends to publish a special report, it takes that work very seriously and only publishes information after detailed and thorough consideration.”
Originally published as ‘IBAC is silent’: Shadow Attorney-General slams watchdog over Operation Richmond
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