Printergate: Minister dodges questions on whether Labor MP should face office misuse probe
A Victorian minister has declined to commit to equal treatment for a Labor MP accused of the same office misuse that triggered an integrity investigation into a Liberal colleague.
A Victorian government minister has declined to say whether a Labor MP accused of using her electorate office for party business should face the same scrutiny as a Liberal MP accused of the same.
Leaked messages revealed by the Herald Sun showed that Kororoit Labor MP Luba Grigorovitch had texted the secretary and deputy secretary of her western suburbs branch in February 2023 that they could print “anything” and that “my office is yours”, in what could have been a breach of strict parliamentary rules.
It came after Liberal MP Richard Welch was referred to the Parliamentary Workplace, Safety and Integrity Commission after admitting to offering “same-day” printing services from his taxpayer-funded office to his party’s MPs.
It is against the rules of parliamentary resources to conduct party-related activities by office staff in electorate offices.
Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said on Saturday that she understood Ms Grigorovitch had “made corrections” to her use of her office’s resources after she was informed her printing offer was a misuse of the office.
Asked twice whether Ms Grigorovitch should face the same integrity probe as Mr Welch, Ms D’Ambrosio simply said it was “important that no one interferes with any investigation”.
“I’ll let that run its course because it’s important that we don’t interfere with that process.”
Mr Welch was referred to the integrity probe by a Labor Minister, Mary-Anne Thomas, to look into the potential misconduct.
Ms Thomas wrote to the Commission: “I am concerned to ensure that any allegations of parliamentary misconduct that are within the remit of the Commission, are identified, investigated and appropriate action taken.”
Opposition leader Jess Wilson stood by Mr Welch, and said that he had paid the entire expense of the printing out of his own pocket.
“I have spoken to Richard, I speak to Richard everyday, and he has been very clear that no taxpayer expense has been incurred,” Ms Wilson said.
“Richard has been very clear today that he paid for all the material, the printer, himself that all of this work took place out of hours through volunteer hours and he has been very clear that no taxpayer expense has been incurred,” she said.
Ms Grigorovitch has also maintained that no misuse occurred, saying the rescinded the open-office offer after seeking advice.
“As a new member of parliament, following this exchange I sought advice and was made aware this would not be appropriate,” Ms Grigorovitch said.
“Both individuals on the group chat were then informed of this. Neither the survey referred to in the group chat, nor any other internal ALP material, was printed from my office.”
Originally published as Printergate: Minister dodges questions on whether Labor MP should face office misuse probe
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