Shannon Deery: Victoria parliament’s Creeps Corner shows extent of men behaving badly

The fact Victoria’s parliament has a section referred to in subdued tones as Creeps Corner shows the extent of the behavioural problems plaguing the state’s political class.

Why the hell are there so many men behaving badly in Victoria’s parliament?

Is there something in the water, is it the long hours, the stress of the job?

Or is it the sense of entitlement and warped worldview that comes with a $200,000 taxpayer-funded job with few defined requirements.

Enter Greens MP Sam Hibbins, the latest in a trifecta of men booted from their party this parliamentary term.

That’s three of the lower house’s 46 males forced out of the parties for which they were elected in the less than two years since the poll.

The Prahran MP stood down just over a week ago, joining Ringwood’s Will Fowles and South Barwon’s Darren Cheeseman, who were booted from Labor.

Fowles and Cheeseman have made parliamentary attendance optional under their new working arrangement. Whether Hibbins follows suit or decides to turn up and actually represent his constituents will be put to the test when parliament resumes on Tuesday.

If he does, he’ll sit in what is now referred to in subdued tones around parliament as Creeps Corner – the new lower house crossbench for exiled MPs.

“At the rate MPs are being sacked by their party, Creep’s Corner will likely get party status before the election,” one MP quipped recently.

Sam Hibbins is the latest MP to find himself on outs with his party.

The circumstances of Hibbins’s potentially career-ending exit from the Greens remains less than clear.

Ask him, and he’s guilty only of “a consensual relationship with a staff member from my office”.

“This short relationship ended some time ago, but it does breach our partyroom rules,” he said in a statement announcing his exit.

A consensual affair, even for a married father of two, is not normally career-ending.

The power imbalance between an MP and their staff makes the situation infinitely more problematic.

But now consider the statement issued by Greens leader Ellen Sandell shortly after Hibbins exited the team.

She said she received information from Parliamentary Services “detailing serious and concerning allegations” regarding Hibbins.

It involved “behaving inappropriately towards a staff member over a period of time” and was the subject of a complaint.

“I’ve spoken to the staff member and my primary concern throughout all of this is her wellbeing,” Sandell said.

“Everyone, especially women, deserve respect and safety in their workplace.

“We, as well as Parliamentary Services, are providing full support to the staff member who made this report, and we are also providing support to our broader staff team.”

Even Inspector Clouseau could work out there is a gaping chasm between the two versions of events.

South Barwon MP Darren Cheeseman has made parliamentary attendance optional. Picture: Mark Wilson

Something about the emphasis on the relationship being consensual in Hibbins’ statement does not marry up with the concern for the staff member in Sandell’s.

That’s not to suggest Hibbins is guilty of anything, far from it.

But where’s the scrutiny of both Hibbins and the Greens’ handling of this situation?

Sandell said she learnt of the complaint against Hibbins two weeks ago and he was suspended immediately.

Why then did the Greens, through their silence, continue to portray him to the parliament as a Greens member from that point.

It wasn’t until Friday that the affair was made public.

Sitting on the scandal until the parliamentary sitting week had ended smacks of hypocrisy from the party that demands accountability from opponents.

Interestingly, this complaint against Hibbins was not the first.

A complaint was made shortly after he was elected, but then withdrawn with the complainant asking that no action be taken.

What to do about these men behaving badly – those elected to make our laws and shape our state. Should they keep their jobs?

Is it right that electorates lose the benefits of having a party man represent them in the parliament?

Will Fowles campaigning in his days as a Labor MP. Picture: Mark Stewart

Hibbins might be a decent local member for Prahran, but it’s folly to think he would have been elected without the backing of his party.

This week it was tempting to write about how Victoria is now locked into more than $5bn worth of contracts for the Suburban Rail Loop.

Premier Jacinta Allan is ploughing full steam ahead with that, snookering Opposition Leader John Pesutto, who has committed to not ripping up any contracts.

If he wins in 2026, Pesutto can pause work on the $34.5bn project, but Victoria would then be left with $5bn worth of pointless holes in the ground.

And there’s the tiny issue of how we’re funding the country’s most expensive infrastructure project without federal money.

But writing about that would have ignored the problem the parliament seems unable to grapple with.

Later this year a new commission to investigate allegations of corruption or misconduct against MPs will finally get to work. More’s the pity it’s not ready to go now.

In Sam Hibbins, it might have found its ideal first case.