Labor senator Kim Carr spent more than $50,000 with printing firm at centre of rorting allegations

THE Labor “cash-for-stacks” scandal has embroiled Victorian powerbroker Kim Carr, who spent tens of thousands of dollars with the printer at the centre of the rorting allegations.

EXCLUSIVE: The Labor “cash-for-stacks” scandal has embroiled Victorian powerbroker Kim Carr, who spent tens of thousands of dollars with the printer at the centre of rorting allegations.

In a new twist to the saga, the Herald Sun has obtained invoices showing Senator Carr racked up taxpayer-funded charges with F&M Printing ­totalling $51,367 in two years.

The factional heavyweight in charge of Victorian Labor’s industrial Left is a close ally of embattled state MP Khalil Eideh, whose office is at the centre of an investigation by the anti-corruption watchdog.

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Senator Kim Carr has been embroiled in the cash-for-stacks scandal.

The Herald Sun revealed earlier this year that Senator Carr and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten sent work to the printing business. Invoices released under Freedom of Information laws show Mr Shorten spent $4270 for four jobs during 2010 and 2011.

Senator Carr is the only federal MP to have used the ­Keilor East business since 2015, using them for 14 jobs.

The jobs involved printing thousands of business cards, letterheads, and flyers on matters concerning penalty rates, Medicare, and energy.

Senator Carr’s spokesman said the printer had always provided “the full quantity of printing” and prices quoted were “fair and reasonable”.

“The federal guidelines for printing material are strict, including the need to provide copies of material printed. The office has always complied with these rules.

Victorian MP Khalil Eideh’s office is under investigation. Picture: AAP Image/Wayne Taylor

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“These are serious allegations reported in the media and should be fully investigated,” the spokesman said.

The Herald Sun broke the story about allegations of rorting on September 6.

It prompted an immediate parliamentary probe into claims that hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars had been siphoned from politicians’ printing budgets to pay for ALP memberships.

Whistleblowers alleged invoices were created for large orders of brochures or other material that were never fully printed, and that money paid by parliament to MPs was then used to pay for memberships.

The Keilor East printing business at the centre of the scandal. Picture: Nicole Garmston

The Herald Sun can now reveal at least one federal MP tried to use F&M Printing after the allegations became public.

The Department of Finance confirmed it received “work expense claims” for the business’s services “in the month preceding 24 October, 2017”.

The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission is probing the allegations. In October, it raided the printing firm, as well as the home of Western Metropolitan electorate office manager Robert Mammarella, who works for Mr Eideh.

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Mr Eideh has denied any knowledge of rorting but stepped down as deputy president of the Legislative Council.

The Department of Finance said it had not spoken with state parliament about the printing firm, and it would not be appropriate to comment on the IBAC investigation.

Mr Shorten has previously said he knew “absolutely nothing about this situation” and that he expected it would be fully investigated.