Andrews Government MPs implicated in Labor rorts for votes scandal

AT LEAST 20 Labor MPs are implicated in the rorts-for-votes scandal that has engulfed the Andrews Government in a political crisis. Victoria’s Ombudsman will release a bombshell report later this morning. ROLLING COVERAGE

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AT LEAST 20 Labor MPs are implicated in the rorts-for-votes scandal that has engulfed the Andrews Government in a political crisis.

Victoria’s Ombudsman Deborah Glass will release a bombshell report at 10am today into ALP misuse of taxpayer funds to pay for campaign staff in a controversial scheme that helped Premier Daniel Andrews win the 2014 election.

LENDERS QUITS AHEAD OF ALP RORTS FOR VOTES REPORT

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More than 20 Labor MPs — ­including some serving Cabinet ministers — are believed to be caught up in the investigation into the election campaign funding rort.

The watchdog’s investigation was sparked by Herald Sun revelations in September 2015 that hundreds of thousands of dollars were diverted from taxpayers to help bankroll an army of grassroots campaigners dubbed “red shirts”.

FOLLOW ROLLING COVERAGE ON HERALDSUN.COM.AU AS THE REPORT DROPS

In other major developments on the eve of the report’s release, the Herald Sun can also reveal:

LABOR figures expect the watchdog to name each of the 20-plus MPs, in a move that will intensify pressure on them to repay the money and threatens to undermine the government leading into this year’s election.

THE amount each MP charged taxpayers varies widely, with some wrongly charging tens of thousands of dollars in staff wages to parliament. The overall sum rorted is hundreds of thousands of dollars.

HUNDREDS of days of red shirts’ campaign work was wrongly charged to the public by the MPs.

TIMESHEETS used to facilitate payments were often filled out in advance, and are expected to come under close scrutiny in the report.

Labor insiders say the state’s ­integrity watchdog is likely to have probed the involvement of Labor’s 2014 campaign committee in ­approving the funding scheme.

Key members of that committee include Mr Andrews, his right-hand man and Special Minister of State Gavin Jennings, Labor’s then state secretary Noah Carroll, ­Attorney-General Martin Pakula, and senior federal MPs such as Kim Carr and former senator Stephen Conroy.

On Tuesday, Deputy Premier James Merlino continued to defend the scheme as a “pooling” of staff, and said the party had acted “within the rules”.

A bombshell report into ALP misuse of taxpayer funds during a controversial scheme that helped Premier Daniel Andrews win the 2014 election will be released at 10am on Wednesday. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

If the findings are as damning as expected, it will put enormous pressure on the ALP to repay the money it misused, as well as an estimated $1 million the Andrews Government wasted on failed legal challenges to the probe.

The Herald Sun revealed on Monday the first casualty of the rorts-for-votes scheme, its key architect and former state treasurer John Lenders. He has quit a $90,000-a-year post at rail asset owner VicTrack.

The Herald Sun exposed the scandal in 2015, when Labor whistleblowers said hundreds of days of campaigning before the 2014 state election were paid for by MPs’ taxpayer-funded office budgets. They revealed dozens of ALP staff were hired to pose as electorate officers but were really ­directing 5500 campaign ­volunteers, the “red shirts”.

How the Herald Sun broke the ALP rorts for votes story.

MPS SAY MISUSED TAXPAYER RESOURCES HELPED LABOR WIN 2014 VICTORIAN ELECTION

Most were paid at least two days a week by the Victorian Parliament, despite clearly carrying out ALP business.

Whistleblower Jake Finnigan spoke on 3AW ahead of the release.

He said it had been a painful two and a half years while the probe was ongoing.

Mr Finnigan said he was based in Police Minister Lisa Neville’s office in Geelong but was being paid by Sports Minister John Eren.

“I wasn’t completing any electorate officer work, my role was purely a political party one,” he said.

Mr Finnigan confirmed he had spoken with investigators and said he would have blown the whistle again even though it has caused him great pain.

“It has caused me immense emotional turmoil,” he said.

“I lost a significant amount of friends.

“My career is ostensibly over.... but I was always brought up to essentially tell the truth.

“I sincerely hope it will be for the greater good of this state.”

Shadow Treasurer Michael O’Brien said any MPs found to have been implicated must pay the price. “Everyone knows you cannot use your electorate staff for party political campaigning,’’ he said.

“When rorting has been found, the people who are responsible apologise, pay back the money and lose their jobs, that’s the standard.’’

He pointed to former Labor minister Steve Herbert, who ferried his dogs in a taxpayer-funded car; and Labor’s former speaker and deputy who rorted tens of thousands from a second-home allowance.

Mr O’Brien said the same standard of punishment must be applied to MPs implicated in this probe.

Greens integrity spokesman Sam Hibbins said: “You have to question why Daniel Andrews committed so much time and public money trying to shut down this investigation. The stench hanging over parliament must be lifted.”

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