Second printer in Labor stacks rort claims probe
TWO printing firms are being investigated after Labor Party insiders claimed taxpayer funds were being used to pay for ALP memberships in an unprecedented rort.
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TWO printing firms are being investigated after Labor Party insiders claimed taxpayer funds were being used to pay for ALP memberships in an unprecedented rort.
After at least three Labor members made explosive claims to the Herald Sun, parliament confirmed the activities of F & M Printing and its links to the office of embattled MP Khalil Eideh would be a key focus in the probe.
The Herald Sun can reveal another firm in Melbourne’s north linked to a different MP’s office is also being scrutinised. The whistleblowers contacted the Herald Sun earlier this month, organising secret meetings at several locations across Melbourne.
The elaborate scheme they alleged took place had the key aim of funnelling public money from parliament to pay for ALP branch stacking in four federal electorates.
Documentation has been handed over to support some of the claims.
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The whistleblowers allege the rort was run by some electorate staff in a small number of Victorian MPs’ offices.
They allege false invoices were provided to the Victorian parliament in order to claim payments from the state for printing work that was never done.
Whistleblowers say printing firms provided several mock documents, took a small cut and sent the rest of the cash back to the MPs’ offices, which was used to pay for branch-stacking activities.
A handful of sources confirmed they had never paid for their ALP memberships, dating as far back as 2007.
State Opposition Leader Matthew Guy on Wednesday questioned whether printing firm F & M Printing, which he described as “a backyard business located in Keilor East”, had been used to enable the office to “fraudulently produce invoices for printing they haven’t done in order to siphon off taxpayer money to pay for Labor Party memberships”.
He also questioned whether the alleged rort had been run out of the office of Upper House deputy president Khalil Eideh.
Mr Eideh told the ABC on Wednesday his office manager had complied with the rules, when asked about the allegations.
When the Herald Sun went to his office manager Robert Mammarella — who is the father of former Melton councillor and four-time mayor Justin Mammarella — he denied any wrongdoing.
“That is a ridiculous allegation,” he said.
An F & M Printing owner categorically denied all knowledge of any rort when contacted by the Herald Sun on Tuesday, saying all products paid for had been provided.
“No money has gone back, I have no idea what goes on down there (Mr Eideh’s office). We do the work, we pay our bills,” the owner said. A man interviewed at F & M Printing on Wednesday told one TV crew to leave, adding that if they didn’t: “I will smash the camera.”
The Opposition has indicated that, pending the outcome of the parliamentary probe, it is likely to make a complaint to Victoria Police and anti-corruption watchdog IBAC.
— with Kieran Rooney
PROBE INTO STACKS RORT CLAIMS BEGINS
STATE parliament has begun investigating whistleblowers’ claims that hundreds of thousands of dollars were siphoned from MPs’ printing budgets to pay for ALP memberships.
Legislative Council president Bruce Atkinson announced the inquiry into “deeply disturbing” allegations within hours of the Herald Sun revealing them.
Whistleblowers claim hundreds of memberships were bankrolled via the creation of invoices for printing jobs that were never done.
“If the allegations are true, they involve criminal actions,” Mr Atkinson said.
The Cash For Stacks scandal could be referred to police and the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission if a crime is suspected.
Invoices to be examined include one for $4455 for 20,000 brochures for a small community festival, and another for $4345 for 20,000 brochures for a Moonee Valley event.
Federal divisions where memberships were allegedly paid to stack the branch include federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten’s electorate.
As well as Mr Shorten’s Maribyrnong electorate, other electorates were Gorton, Scullin and Calwell.
It is not suggested the MPs in those seats were aware of the alleged scam.
A spokesman for Mr Shorten said on Wednesday night rorting claims had “never” been brought to his attention.
He said: “These are serious allegations and they should be fully investigated.”
Whistleblowers alleged staff in Victorian MPs’ offices created false invoices to claim payments from parliament for printing work that was never done prior to June 2016.
Mr Atkinson said: “If we can establish the veracity of the practices outlined in the Herald Sun, the matter will be referred to external agencies. I have already begun a review of printing invoices and we will pursue other lines of inquiry.”
During a heated Question Time in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday, Opposition Leader Matthew Guy grilled Premier Daniel Andrews about the involvement of the office of deputy Legislative Council president Khalil Eideh in the scheme.
Mr Eideh has denied any knowledge of wrongdoing.
“If anyone has any information about any inappropriate conduct ... they should go to Victoria Police,” Mr Andrews said. “They would properly investigate any such matter.”
Asked whether his own electorate office had used company F & M Printing for work, he said: “I have no knowledge of that printing firm at all.”
The printing company denied any wrongdoing.
Mr Andrews then raised Mr Guy’s socialising with questionable people (alluding to his having dined with an alleged mafia figure).
Mr Guy yelled: “I had dinner with one, you are one.”
He also asked: “Premier, when will you, your government, and the Labor Party stop stealing taxpayers’ money?”
Mr Guy questioned whether Mr Eideh’s office was at the centre of rorting.
Mr Eideh, who is aligned to Socialist Left powerbroker Kim Carr, told the Herald Sun: “I am not aware of any of this.”
He also backed his electorate office staff, saying they had followed parliamentary rules
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