IBAC probe into Victorian Government dealings United Firefighters Union delayed

The release of a secret IBAC probe into the United Firefighters Union dealings with the Andrews government could still be a “very long” way off despite it being finished two years ago.

The release secret IBAC report has faced more delays. Picture: Rachel Gray

A top secret corruption report into government dealings with the United Firefighters Union is no closer to being released, almost two years after being completed.

The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission investigation, dubbed Operation Richmond, was completed in 2021.

But lengthy legal battles have blocked the release of the final report.

Before finishing his five-year term as IBAC commissioner in December, Robert Redlich said he feared further litigation would blow out the timeline for the report’s release.

And he revealed IBAC had been unable to even share a preliminary draft to persons of interest and others mentioned in the report.

“It could still be a very long time before it sees the light of day,” he said.

IBAC told the Herald Sun there had been no progress on the matter.

Operation Richmond is one of four known IBAC probes to have personally involved Daniel Andrews.

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

The investigation is understood to have probed the United Firefighters Union’s role in the amalgamation of the MFB and CFA into Fire Services Victoria.

It is understood it began after a complaint was lodged with IBAC by the state opposition alleging misconduct on the part of the Andrews government in its dealings with the union.

Union secretary, Peter Marshall, is understood to be at the centre of phone taps that formed part of the investigation.

Conversations with members of the government, and its support for the ALP forms part of the intercepted material, are also understood to be key to the probe.

The Herald Sun has been told senior government MPs emerged as figures of interest during the investigation.

The Premier has also been called to appear before inquiries probing allegations of corrupt land deals, the misuse of political staffers, and union grants.

The secret report is one of two known reports into Victoria’s fire services that has never been released.

The second is an Ombudsman’s report that probed allegations of corruption and financial mismanagement spanning more than a decade.

The report was prepared by Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass, probing a protected disclosure complaint regarding financial misconduct at the former Metropolitan Fire Brigade.

Sources familiar with the report claimed it had been “buried” and have called for the report to be made public.

It is understood the probe, launched in 2020, investigated allegations of hidden payments and misreporting of funds in the MFB’s annual report.