Victorian ministers flouting transparency rules, and the premier is the worst offender

Victorians are being kept in the dark for months about meetings between state ministers and lobbyists, as MPs flout rules the government promised would increase transparency by opening their diaries to the public.

Only three of the state’s 22 ministers have updated their ministerial diaries within the required time frames, according to the latest signed disclosures. Premier Jacinta Allan, who has the sole authority to enforce the rules, is the worst offender, with her latest disclosures submitted nearly three months late.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan.Credit: Simon Schluter

Legal and integrity experts are calling for an overhaul of the scheme, after the latest tranche of publicly available disclosures showed meeting records only up to September 2024.

The ministerial code of conduct was updated in late 2023, requiring ministers and parliamentary secretaries to declare meetings with lobbyists and stakeholders every three months.

The move came after the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) recommended ministerial diaries be made public in a special report on corruption risks associated with donations and lobbying.

William Partlett, Melbourne University law school associate professor, said the delays in releasing ministerial diaries reduced the relevance and value of their disclosures.

“Let’s be honest, they know that when media or watchdogs look at these months down the track there is less interest,” he said.

“The longer the lag, the less useful these can be and less accountability these can generate.”

Partlett suggested that the newly created Parliamentary Workplace Standards and Integrity Commission’s powers could be extended to oversee the ministerial diaries process

“There would have to be some sort of consequence for delays. At the moment, they are the judge of their own matter,” he said.

The ministerial code of conduct is not enshrined in legislation, and its enforcement rests solely with the premier of the day.

Potential breaches do not come under the remit of IBAC, unless it suspects on reasonable grounds that they meet the definition of “corrupt conduct”.

The latest diaries reveal Allan disclosed 63 meetings in the three months to the end of September. They included a meeting with the Australian Hotels Association, Minerals Council of Australia, and former Department of Justice secretary Greg Wilson, who is leading a review of Victoria’s troubled construction sector.

In August, Allan met Crown Melbourne executives and held a “stakeholder discussion” with property developers. In July, she met Jillian Segal, special envoy to combat antisemitism in Australia, and separately the president of the Children’s Court.

However, Allan’s signed disclosures were submitted almost three months after the end of the September quarter, instead of the required 10 working days.

There is no suggestion of any impropriety in holding the meetings.

She was among 19 ministers who did not submit their September diaries to the Department of Premier and Cabinet within the required time frame. Only Minister for Housing and the Suburban Rail Loop Harriet Shing, Roads Minister Melissa Horne and Police Minister Anthony Carbines met the deadline, according to their signed forms.

Meanwhile, ministerial meetings have not yet been made public beyond September, despite the pledge to publish diaries quarterly.

Catherine Williams, research director at the Centre for Public Integrity, said that the publication of ministerial diaries should ideally be overseen by an independent regulator.

“The ministerial diaries at the moment, given the lag that is occurring, do not seem to be functioning as we would want them to in the sense of transparency of interactions between ministers and stakeholders who may be seeking to influence the exercise of public power,” she said.

“It is always difficult when it is the leader of government who is responsible for enforcing compliance by their ministers.

“It is the case that leaders of government will often find it politically expedient to minimise perceptions of wrongdoing by their ministers, so may not approach a question of breach in the same way as an independent regulator would.”

Williams said ministerial diary disclosures were an important way to help minimise any excess influence held by lobbyists acting for private interests against the public interest.

The premier did not answer questions about why she had not submitted her diary within the required time frame, if she had attempted to enforce the rule among her ministers, or why the December quarter diaries had not been made public.

A spokeswoman for the government said: “We have led the most significant overhaul of parliamentary oversight in Australia, ensuring that those who are elected to serve Victorians are held to the highest standards of integrity and accountability – including by publishing ministerial diaries.”

Opposition spokeswoman for government scrutiny Bev McArthur said the failure to publish the diaries showed a disregard for transparency and accountability.

“Ministerial diaries exist to ensure Victorians know who is influencing key government decisions, yet this government refuses to follow its own rules,” she said.

“What are they trying to hide? The Allan government must immediately come clean with Victorians and release these diaries without delay.”

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.