Police probe into Labor’s “red shirts” rort to be completed “in the near future”

Police are still deciding whether to charge the architects of Labor’s “rorts-for-votes” scheme, more than ten weeks after vowing to wrap up the long-running investigation “very quickly”.

Police are still deciding whether to charge the architects of Labor’s “rorts-for-votes” scheme, more than ten weeks after vowing to wrap up the long-running investigation “very quickly”.

Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton announced on February 14 that the Labor MPs who misused almost $388,000 in taxpayers’ money for campaigning during the 2014 state election would not face charges.

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But he said fraud squad detectives would finish their investigation of two Labor figures who “allegedly orchestrated or designed these arrangements” within “a month or two months at the most”.

“We have established most of our evidence already and now we have that guidance, that understanding from the Director of Public Prosecutions … I think that would progress very quickly moving forward,” Mr Patton said at the time.

John Lenders. Picture: David Crosling

It is unclear how far the investigation has progressed since then, with police refusing to say whether the scheme’s architect John Lenders, the former state treasurer, and his then-adviser Jadon Mintern have been interviewed by detectives.

Shadow Attorney-General Edward O’Donohue wrote to Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton last week, questioning the lack of progress in more than 76 days since Mr Patton’s comments.

“It would be greatly appreciated if I, as complainant, could be advised of the exact current status of these ongoing investigations and provided some explanation as to why there has been such a lengthy delay in concluding these investigations,” Mr O’Donohue wrote.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said the force was “hopeful of having an outcome in the near future”.

She said it was a “complex investigation” and it was important to get it right given the “strong public interest in the outcome”.

Jadon Mintern. Picture: Supplied

Mr Patton had vowed that the two remaining targets of the investigation would be interviewed over “potential fraud matters” including making and using false documents, obtaining property or financial advantage by deception, conspiracy to defraud and associated offences.

“Certainly we will speak to those two persons … as to their involvement in the matter,” he said.

Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass last year described the ­arrangement of hiring staff for political work as an “artifice” — a cunning device or trick — to milk more money for Labor’s campaigning.

Her report detailed how Mr Lenders described the 60:40 payment split between ALP and taxpayer resources, and how timesheets were partially done by Mr Mintern.

Labor paid back the money in the wake of her report and police launched Operation Ocotillo — the formal probe into the rort — last July.

@tminear