Daniel Andrews refuses to say if he has been questioned in third IBAC probe

Daniel Andrews has refused to say if he has been secretly questioned as part of a third probe by the anti-corruption watchdog.

Daniel Andrews and IBAC have refused to say if the Premier has been secretly questioned as part of a third corruption probe.

Mr Andrews is facing renewed calls to stand down after it was revealed he has been secretly grilled over his association with property developer John Woodman.

Mr Andrews testified in private as part of the Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission’s Operation Sandon which is probing allegedly corrupt land deals.

He also gave evidence at a private hearing as part of IBAC’s Operation Watts, which investigated claims of widespread corruption within the Victorian Labor Party.

Now multiple sources have suggested Mr Andrews was questioned as part of IBAC’s Operation Richmond which probed the Andrews government’s dealings with the United Firefighters Union over the controversial amalgamation of the state’s fire services.

Mr Andrews and former senior public servant were each critical to the probe, according to sources close to the investigation.

The Herald Sun has confirmed the public servant was questioned by IBAC.

Daniel Andrews is facing renewed calls to stand down. Picture: Brendan Beckett

But a spokeswoman for Mr Andrews on Friday refused to say whether or not the Premier had been questioned.

“The government will not comment on an active IBAC investigation,” she said.

It has long been believed Mr Andrews was interviewed by IBAC but he has repeatedly said the secrecy provisions mean he is unable to even acknowledge if he has been spoken to.

In February IBAC wrote to many witnesses informing them the probe – which began in mid-2018 – was almost complete and that they were not bound by their confidentiality obligations.

It came after a Court of Appeal decision found the notices requiring witnesses to remain silent were not drafted properly.

The operation has been one of the most secretive operations in the history of IBAC and has involved scores of witnesses being called before secret hearings.

Among the issues believed to be central to the IBAC probe are the events surrounding the controversial merging of the Country Fire Authority and the Metropolitan Fire Brigade and industrial agreements, allowances and pay claims between the government and the union.

Senior ministers are expected to have emerged as figures of interest during the investigation.

Opposition leader Matthew Guy on Friday demanded the Premier be upfront with Victorians about any dealings he has had with IBAC.

“We’re owed the truth,” he said.

Operation Richmond probed the Andrews government’s dealings over the controversial amalgamation of the state’s fire services. Picture: Mark Wilson

“How many times has he been interviewed by the corruption commission, what topics has he been interviewed by the corruption commission about, and more the point is he the one who asked to be interviewed in secret.

“There are so many questions the premier has to answer.

“He can’t keep evading questions about probity and integrity that is now central to his government.

“At a time we have an ambulance crisis, a triple zero crisis, at a time we’re facing mountainous debt, billions of dollars in deficit budgets, we are at least owed the truth about integrity in government.”

Mr Guy also renewed calls for the Premier to step down pending the outcomes of the individual probes.

“Victoria cannot afford to have a Premier mired in a corruption crisis as it seeks to recover and rebuild,” he said.

“He needs to stand aside until this stench of corruption can be cleared up once and for all.”

Mr Guy has vowed to increase funding to IBAC and immediately reverse changes made by the Andrews Government in 2019 which made it harder for IBAC to hold public hearings.

Currently, IBAC must receive strong evidence to support an allegation before it considered holding a public examination of a witness.

However there are a range of other reasons, including circumstances where there is a “public interest” in examining a witness, that allows public hearings.

Andrews was secretly grilled over his association with property developer John Woodman. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Barrister Paul Hayes, QC, called for more transparency around IBAC.

“The value of having an anti-corruption hearing which consistently questions all witnesses relevant to its inquiry in public is to ensure transparency not just of IBAC’s investigations, but also IBAC itself,” he said

“It is difficult to understand why IBAC has held public hearings for some witnesses giving evidence relevant to an investigation and not others. Consistency here is the key. Either have a secret investigation, as IBAC is entitled to do under its governing legislation, or have a public investigation where all witnesses are questioned in public, but not an investigation which is a little bit of both.

“Where there is an inconsistent approach by IBAC in its conduct of an investigation in determining which witnesses give their evidence in public and which witnesses do not, the consequences can be embarrassing not just for some witnesses, but also IBAC itself.

“Witnesses whose evidence has not had the benefit of being aired in the same public forum in which other evidence in an inquiry has come to light and where the public is able to form a balanced and more complete view of all of the evidence gathered in the investigation can be subject to scandalous speculation. Further, public confidence in IBAC is vulnerable to being undermined, where the public might perceive that IBAC treats some witnesses differently to others”.

Former Premier Jeff Kennett said the Premier’s secret hearings were “deeply disturbing”.

“I think it is deeply disturbing for the credibility of IBAC, it is deeply disturbing for the Premier, his ministers and his government,” he said.

“Invariably, where there is smoke, there is fire. And I think the very least the public should expect from IBAC and from the government, to ensure there is no continuing cover up, is that these hearings should be made public. Everything that happens in this state happens under the cone of silence and non disclosure.

“If the roles were reversed a Labor opposition would be demanding no more than what I am suggesting,” he said.

An IBAC spokeswoman refused to answer questions about Operation Richmond.

“As a matter of practice, IBAC does not comment on whether it has a complaint or investigation before it,” she said.