Darren Cheeseman goes to ground as South Barwon voters feel the brunt of budget cuts

South Barwon MP Darren Cheeseman is staying silent in the face of calls for him to tell voters what his plans are following allegations of “persistent, inappropriate behaviour” towards multiple female staff. HAVE YOUR SAY.

Darren Cheeseman's Armstrong Creek office remains open but the man himself has gone to ground. Picture: Alison Wynd.

Axed Labor politician Darren Cheeseman has gone into hiding despite mounting calls for him to clarify his future amid allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards female staff.

The South Barwon MP has gone to ground since the allegations emerged a fortnight ago, other than for a Facebook post confirming he would remain in parliament.

He has a strong financial incentive to do so.

His annual salary of almost $200,000 will see him earn more than $512,000, as well other perks and allowances, up until the 2026 election.

Multiple attempts to contact the 47-year-old were unsuccessful.

Mr Cheeseman’s website and Instagram account have been deleted, but his Facebook page has resurfaced after earlier disappearing.

His cover photo has Labor branding and while his Armstrong Creek office remains open, it is being manned by a new group of staff after existing employees chose to move on, sources said.

“He already had a high turnover of staff before all of this happened,” one said.

A male employee on Thursday said Mr Cheeseman was unavailable.

He has taken leave from parliament for an undisclosed amount of time.

“We’ve seen the people in his electorate badly miss out at this week’s budget …(but) he was nowhere to be seen,” Polwarth MP Richard Riordan said.

“We’ve seen all the stuff from the Commonwealth Games scrapped, we’ve seen the Torquay hospital that he promised scrapped, all this is happening in his absence.

“It’s not good enough that he’s going to sit back and earn a lazy 200 grand a year to not turn up to parliament.”

Labor MPs Danny Pearson, Libby Coker and Darren Cheeseman. This photo was posted to Mr Cheeseman’s Facebook page a week before he was booted from the party. Source: Facebook.

Mr Cheeseman earned the dubious title of parliament’s naughtiest MP in 2023 after he was ejected from question time more than any other.

He missed 11.5 hours of action after being booted 15 times throughout the year.

The Torquay community hospital was Mr Cheeseman’s flagship campaign promise during his bid to enter state parliament in 2018.

He said the facility would open this year, but other than securing a parcel of land on South Beach Rd, the project has not progressed.

Whether it will ever be built is now in doubt after Treasurer Tim Pallas said the government was conducting “further service planning … to determine the optimal care models to best meet primary service needs in the community”.

The link to Darren Cheeseman's website is dead – is his political career?

The Polwarth electorate adjoins South Barwon at its south-west boundary and Mr Riordan called on Mr Cheeseman to “absolutely come clean” with voters.

“He needs to explain what his plan is,” he said.

“What’s he going to do to earn his money?

“My fear is the government said to him, ‘We won’t say anything if you don’t say anything, you can just sit there and earn your 200 grand.’

“I’m sorry, but that’s just not good enough.”

One senior Labor figure said they would not be surprised if Mr Cheeseman remained in parliament without ever addressing the allegations.

Premier Jacinta Allan said the fast-growing suburbs within South Barwon would not be overlooked despite Mr Cheeseman’s dismissal from the government benches.

Ms Allan said Labor would ensure it maintained a strong presence in the electorate ahead of the 2026 election.

Geelong-based upper house member and Minister for Regional Development Minister Gayle Tierney has assumed responsibility for the electorate for Labor.

It is widely accepted that Mr Cheeseman was the least visible Labor MP in the region and by far the hardest to “pin down” for meetings, industry leaders said.

One described him as an “enigma”, while another said his attire at events fell below the standard expected of an elected representative.

The South Barwon branch of the Labor Party is due to meet next week and one insider said the group was in “disarray” and unsure of its next move.

Voters commenting on Mr Cheeseman’s Facebook post were not so unsure.

“Your electorate deserves a full explanation from you – that or your resignation as its MP,” one said.

Another was more blunt.

“If the state premier is stating she has no place in her government for you, why would the people of South Barwon want you representing them?

“Time to hand it in.”

Originally published as Darren Cheeseman goes to ground as South Barwon voters feel the brunt of budget cuts