Findings from IBAC probe into Andrews government to be released

Findings from a top-secret probe into the Premier’s involvement in grants provided to the Health Workers Union before the 2018 election are set to be released.

Findings from a major corruption inquiry involving Premier Daniel Andrews will be made public this week.

The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission investigation probed, among other things, the Premier’s involvement in government grants provided to the Health Workers Union on the eve of the 2018 election.

The probe, dubbed Operation Daintree, is the fourth corruption probe Mr Andrews has been personally linked to.

Members of parliament were on Monday told that findings into the top secret probe would be released on Wednesday.

Findings from a major corruption inquiry involving Premier Daniel Andrews will be made public this week. Picture: Nicki Connolly

In November IBAC took Supreme Court action in a bid to stop details of the investigation being published.

It concerned a $1.2m grant provided to the union in October 2018.

The funding was signed off on October 30, before the election began and just a week after a training program grant was first announced.

It formed part of a multimillion-dollar package for the training of hospital staff against occupational violence that was announced a week before the government went into caretaker mode.

Relations between the Andrews government and the HWU had been rocky during the government’s first term.

Labor sources said it was in the interest of the government to avoid a public feud with the union during the election campaign.

Health Workers Union boss Diana Asmar. Picture: AAP Image

The training program did not proceed past mid-2020, with Covid cited as contributing to the issue.

It was rolled out as a short-term pilot at two hospitals but not progressed.

The IBAC probe is understood to have focused on the interactions between HWU boss Diana Asmar and members of former health Minister Jill Hennessy’s staff and the Premier’s office in relation to the disbursement of the proposed grants.

Questions have focused on whether public servants were influenced or encouraged to award the funding so quickly.

Mr Andrews has now been involved in at least four known IBAC corruption probes.

But his hearings have been held in private, prompting speculation about his level of involvement in the separate inquiries.

They include Richmond, into the dealings between the powerful United Firefighters Union and the government over pay deals, Operation Sandon, into allegations of corrupt land deals, and Operation Watts, which probed misconduct by political staffers.