Opposition Leader Matthew Guy’s election vow to boost IBAC, clean up corruption slammed

A Victorian Government Minister has slammed a promise by Opposition Leader Matthew Guy to boost IBAC, referencing his "checkered history through lobster with a mobster”.

The state government has slammed the Victorian opposition’s promise to boost IBAC, dubbing it a “hollow” announcement that is “hard to stomach”.

As revealed by the Herald Sun, opposition leader Matthew Guy will on Sunday pledge to boost the Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission and the Victorian Ombudsman with new money and improved laws.

The election commitment comes amid revelations Premier Daniel Andrews was interviewed as part of an anti-corruption probe into the misuse of taxpayer funded staffers by Labor MPs.

But Andrews government Minister Ben Carroll on Sunday refused to say whether his government would match the promise, instead stating his party had already carried out “increased funding for IBAC”.

“It’s a bit hard to stomach the opposition leader calling for changes at IBAC when he himself has his own history with IBAC, where he himself has had a checkered history through lobster with a mobster as well as his own history as planning Minister,” Mr Carroll said.

“Their announcement really is a hollow announcement.

“When they’ve been in office previously, they’ve never funded IBAC.

“They may have set it up but they did not adequately resource or fund it.”

Mr Carroll said Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes is “always looking at ways to improve integrity and transparency” across the state.

“IBAC, like a lot of our other bodies, will continue to be looked at on how we can make improvements there, particularly if they are warranted,” he said.

“They’ve got important work to do when it comes to integrity and I would hope that, federally, we have a similar body as soon as possible.”

Guy’s pledge to clean up corruption in Victoria

Victoria’s corruption watchdogs will be beefed up and guaranteed funding without political interference if the Victorian Coalition is elected, as the Opposition accuses Labor of starving the bodies tasked with keeping them honest.

Opposition Leader Matthew Guy will on Sunday make an election pitch to clean up corruption in the state after several damaging probes into the misuse of taxpayer money and political influence since Labor was elected in 2014.

To do this, he will pledge to boost the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission and the Victorian Ombudsman with new money and improved laws.

The Liberal Nationals will provide a significant funding increase to both agencies if elected and immediately reverse changes made by the Andrews government in 2019 which made it harder for IBAC to hold public hearings.

Matthew Guy’s election pitch is focused on cleaning up corruption in Victoria. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

It comes after revelations Premier Daniel Andrews was interviewed as part of the anti-corruption’s probe into the misuse of staffers by Labor MPs, but his hearings were held in private under current rules.

IBAC and the Ombudsman have been critical of their funding under the current state government and have stated they are under pressure to fund their vital work.

In its last annual report, IBAC welcomed a one-off cash boost but did not secure all the money it believes it needs.

“It will be very challenging to manage a large funding increase for 2021-22 followed by funding reductions in the subsequent two years,” it wrote.

“This will make long-term planning challenging, especially in relation to our workforce.”

In another major reform, a Coalition government has promised to ensure the integrity bodies could not be hobbled by political parties in power.

They will set up an “Officers of Parliament Committee” which will give advice to parliament on the IBAC and the Ombudsman’s annual budgets.

Modelled on a similar concept in New Zealand, it will replace the existing integrity committee which is currently Labor-led and typically has a majority of government MPs.

The Coalition argues this will protect the watchdogs from being starved of funding by the people they are investigating.

“Daniel Andrews has trashed transparency and integrity in this state,” Mr Guy said.

“He has presided over a government that is rotten to the core. Under his watch taxpayers’ money has been stolen and used as a political plaything. It’s time good government, integrity and strong independent oversight was restored so the state can recover and rebuild with confidence.”

Watchdog may face leak probe

The state’s anti-corruption watchdog could face an investigation into its own conduct.

The Victorian Inspectorate has been asked to inquire into the leaking of an interim report into the Victorian ALP.

Damning interim findings of the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission, leaked ahead of the tabling of its final report in parliament, found wrongdoing and the likely misuse of publicly funded staff across Labor’s factions.

But questions have been raised about how the report came to be leaked to the media. The interim document was provided to witnesses and those accused of wrongdoing so they could rebut information or take legal action before the final report was published.

Adem Somyurek says in his letter the leak ‘cannot be tolerated’. Picture: Ian Currie

The IBAC’s legislation has protections to ensure those called by the commission have the chance to reply to accusations in a final report.

It is a serious offence to disclose details, while parties are bound by confidentiality.

Former Minister Adem Somyurek, who is central to the probe, has questioned the integrity of the agency and asked the Victorian Inspectorate to investigate.

In a letter to the inspectorate, which handles complaints about the IBAC, he said the leak cast doubt on the integrity of the probe.

Mr Somyurek has publicly stated he believes the IBAC leaked the document.

“The leaking of the purported draft report ensured that IBAC’s preliminary views based on false assumptions and misunderstanding of critical concepts were made public before I had a chance to respond to them,” he wrote in his letter of complaint.

He said he believed the IBAC had leaked throughout its two years of investigation.