Secret report probe corruption, financial misconduct in MFB as IBAC looks into Andrews

Premier Daniel Andrews says he has “behaved appropriately at all times” as he responds to questions over his dealings with the firefighters’ union.

Premier Daniel Andrews has insisted he has acted appropriately after being grilled over a corruption investigation into the state’s fire services.

Mr Andrews on Wednesday faced repeated questioning over whether he or his staff had been spoken to about the probe, which centres around a contentious 2016 EBA dispute involving the Country Fire Authority and the United Firefighters Union.

The saga resulted in the resignation of then emergency services minister Jane Garrett and the intervention of the premier himself in sacking the entire CFA board.

But he would not confirm any details about the investigation and claimed he could not.

IBAC has confidentiality powers that can prevent people from telling anyone they have been interviewed or spoken to

“If you want to know what IBAC is doing and who they’re doing it with then you need to speak to IBAC,” he said.

United Firefighters Union chief Peter Marshall.

“As far as standards and who said what, you can make your own judgments about that. I have behaved appropriately at all times.

“I’m always focused on doing what is the appropriate thing to do.”

“They are (IBAC) the only people who can answer these questions.”

Mr Andrews also defended the state’s fire services reform which moved most paid firefighters into Fire Rescue Victoria and left the CFA a mostly voluntary organisation.

“The history of this is not so much one of integrity, it’s one of rank politics,” he said.

“I know people get very excited about these issues. They were well ventilated (and) there was a lot of politicking done on them.

“We negotiated in good faith, we got an enterprise agreement, we reformed our fire services.

“A bitter, and I think quite frankly a dangerous dispute that dragged on for more than 1000 days, was brought to an end.”

A secret investigation into Victoria’s fire services has probed claims of corruption and financial mismanagement spanning more than a decade.

The report, prepared by Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass, investigated a complaint of financial misconduct at the former Metropolitan Fire Brigade.

Sources claim it has been “buried” and have called for it to be made public. Launched in 2020, it is understood to have investigated allegations of ­hidden payments and misreporting of funds in the MFB’s annual report.

It comes amid an ongoing investigation of the fire services by the state’s anti-corruption watchdog, IBAC, which is understood to be probing Premier Daniel Andrews as part of its work.

IBAC’s Operation Richmond is examining the role of the United Firefighters Union in the merging of MFB members and CFA career firefighters into the new Fire Rescue Victoria. Several former fire services personnel have been interviewed.

It is understood that 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 United Firefighters Union.

The Herald Sun first revealed the investigation in 2019.

Phone taps form part of the investigation. UFU secretary Peter Marshall is understood to be at the centre of those.

It is believed conversations with members of the government form part of the intercepted material.

It is understood the Premier and senior figures within his office have also formed part of the investigation.

Mr Andrews was on Tuesday quizzed at his daily press conference over his relationship with Mr Marshall and whether he and his staff had always behaved appropriately in their interactions.

Premier Daniel Andrews was quizzed at Tuesday’s press conference. Picture: David Crosling

Mr Andrews said he had ­always done so, but he would not comment on any active corruption investigations.

Shadow Attorney-General Tim Smith has called on the Premier to stand down over the IBAC investigation into the government and the state’s fire services.

Mr Smith — who last week declared the “wrong premier” had resigned when NSW’s Gladys Berejiklian quit parliament — said Mr Andrews should stand aside.

“I’d be very keen to hear what the premier has to say about these matters today,” he said.

“Is he going to fob you (the media) off again?

“Is he going to front up and explain his relationship with Peter Marshall.”

Mr Smith said he was delighted IBAC was looking into the issue.

The Ombudsman’s report is the second known investigation into the state’s fire services to have been kept secret.

In April, the Victorian upper house voted to compel the Andrews government to table in parliament a Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission report suppressed by the Court of ­Appeal in 2018.

Shadow Attorney-General Tim Smith has called on the Premier to stand down. Picture: David Crosling

The government has resisted releasing it, saying the court decided that it had been incorrectly commissioned.

That report was established after a fire services review by the Andrews government raised concerns about the culture in the MFB and CFA.

In 2016, negotiations over a new pay deal for paid CFA and MFB members ignited into a scandal for the state government, with CFA volunteers saying it would turn them into second-class citizens.

Mr Andrews sided with the UFU over its demands for ­control, prompting emergency services minister Jane Garrett and CFA chief Lucinda Nolan to resign. The CFA board was then sacked as tens of thousands of volunteers continued to fight the proposal.

Calls began for an IBAC investigation and ramped up after the Herald Sun later revealed the state government had ­secretly ordered the CFA to pay $2m.

During that time, all paid firefighters in Victoria were merged into the new Fire Rescue Victoria, with the CFA left to be run mostly by volunteers.

The Herald Sun broke the news two years ago that IBAC had begun investigating the fire services, with the probe heating up earlier this year. IBAC officers have been seen at the UFU headquarters in Fitzroy.