Premier’s staffer attended party meetings on his behalf

A taxpayer-funded worker for Dan Andrews has regularly attended meetings at Labor HQ during office hours to discuss campaigning.

A senior staffer for Daniel Andrews has been regularly attending meetings at Labor headquarters during typical office hours to discuss campaigning and party political activity.

But sources close to the premier’s office insist the taxpayer-funded worker took leave to do so.

It comes as the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission probes the misuse of taxpayer resources for party activities, focusing on ministerial and electorate staff during the working day.

This week, it was heard that time sheets filled out by disgraced MP Adem Somyurek allowed for government payments to people who did little work but helped him amass power.

Documents obtained by the Herald Sun show a current staffer within the premier’s own team has been involved in Labor Party work, before and after Ombudsman Deborah Glass investigation into the ‘red shirts’ scam.

Meeting minutes dating from 2017 to 2020 show Mr Andrews’ deputy chief of staff Jessie McCrone often attended Labor’s campaign committee on his behalf.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

The meeting was typically held at 10am on Fridays and focused on political strategies, with Ms McCrone listed as a proxy for the premier on nearly a dozen occasions. Items for discussion included the progress of state and federal election campaigns and by-elections in Northcote and Batman. In one meeting, target seats were ranked in categories of A, B and C.

Government sources have defended Ms McCrone, saying she took leave when attending the committee.

But a Labor insider questioned the practice, highlighting that the premier’s proxy was there as his voice and to relay what policies the state could support or implement.

“If the meetings are designed for the premier, MPs or government staffers to attend, why have them at 10am on a Friday when they would likely be working?” the insider said.

Jessie McCrone in 2019.

The issue raises further questions about taxpayer-funded staff doing political party work.

Members of Cabinet are bound by a code of conduct over the use of staff, while MPs filling out timesheets are warned that people cannot be paid for party political work.

Speculation is mounting IBAC may recommend new laws or changes to strengthen penalties against the practice.

In the red shirts affair, the Labor Party rorted $388,000 by using taxpayer-funded electorate officers to campaign ahead of the 2014 election.

John Lenders, the architect of the scheme, also attended the party’s campaign committee in April last year along with Ms McCrone and a group of state MPs.