Marlene Kairouz to face Labor disputes tribunal after eleventh-hour charges by administrators

Ex-Andrews Government minster Marlene Kairouz has officially been charged by Victorian Labor as part of its long-running party audit.

A former Andrews government minister claims she is being relentlessly pursued as a multicultural woman in Victorian Labor’s branch-stacking audit, with Marlene Kairouz to face a tribunal after being charged by her own party.

It comes as the Herald Sun can reveal a former staffer for Jill Hennessy was among those to receive a letter from administrators Steve Bracks and Jenny Macklin requesting more information.

Since receiving the letter, they have left the party and ceased to work in the former attorney-general Ms Hennessy’s electorate office.

The revelation raised the question of how many government staffers were interviewed, with the issue also being investigated by the Victorian Ombudsman and the Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission.

Late on Sunday night, Ms Kairouz received a letter detailing she would be called by the party’s disputes tribunal over the coming months.

Marlene Kairouz at Victorian parliament.

The charges are not believed to mention branch stacking, a key focus of the audit, but instead involve the transfer of memberships, her attendance at branch meetings and which members were recruited and alleged comments about memberships.

Because the letter was sent just hours before administrators handed back control of the branch it is expected Ms Kairouz’s case will fall under different party rules.

She would then be required to prove her innocence, rather than the typical process of being proven guilty. If found guilty, the Labor MP could be expelled from the party.

Ms Kairouz on Monday said she was disappointed by the decision and expected to fight the accusations.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews with Marlene Kairouz at Deer Park train station in Melbourne.

“The tenuous nature of the charges against me is another indication of a predetermined outcome,” she said.

“The charges do not allege that I was engaged in branch stacking activity but rather I was somehow promoting it or that I knew it was going on and did not report it.

“It is interesting that white Anglo-Saxon men who have engaged in branch stacking to get into parliament are not being investigated and charged by the administrators, but rather a woman from a multicultural background who has never engaged in branch stacking is being pursued relentlessly.”

It can also be revealed Banyule Mayor Rick Garotti has been asked to front the tribunal but similarly the charge does not specifically mention branch stacking.

The Herald Sun is not suggesting Ms Kairouz, Mr Garotti or Ms Hennessy’s staffer engaged in brach stacking or other improper activity, only that they have been spoken to as part of the audit.

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