Tourism Minister John Eren referred to privileges committee over rorts-for-votes scandal

LABOR MPs involved in the rorts-for-votes scheme face fines and potential suspensions from state parliament after a powerful committee was set up to probe them.

LABOR MPs involved in the rorts-for-votes scheme face fines and potential suspensions from state parliament after a powerful committee was set up to probe them.

The Legislative Council Privileges Committee will meet for the first time in its 40-plus year history to judge whether members broke their code of conduct by using money from parliamentary budgets to pay for ALP election campaign staff.

LABOR RORTS TO PUT PRESSURE ON LABOR MPS DURING PARLIAMENT

MPS NOT SORRY AFTER PROBE FINDS THEY SCAMMED $388K FROM TAXPAYERS

Labor’s defence over its knowledge of the rorting scandal started to crumble on Wednesday, with Premier Daniel Andrews and Sports Minister John Eren facing accusations they misled parliament when asked about campaign staff payments in 2015.

In a day of drama, Mr Andrews defended his claim that no Labor campaign staff in Ringwood were paid for out of parliamentary budgets.

Ombudsman Deborah Glass found last week that a field campaigner in Ringwood was partly paid by using electorate office budgets of Upper House MPs Shaun Leane and Matt Viney.

Opposition Leader Matthew Guy called for Mr Eren to be grilled by a separate parliamentary committee for telling parliament he never signed timesheets for a staff member who worked on the Bellarine campaign.

Minister John Eren. Picture: Sarah Matray

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews.

Victorian Opposition Leader Matthew Guy.

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Ms Glass found that Mr Eren’s electorate officer had been deployed in the seat of Bellarine.

In a bizarre parliamentary performance that has set Labor tongues wagging, Mr Eren shouted “this bloke can’t be trusted to tell the truth” before saying he had “acted in good faith”.

When asked who gave him the assurance he was acting within guidelines, Mr Eren said: “I have nothing further to say.”

In the Upper House, 11 past and present Labor MPs named in the Ombudsman’s damning report into the misuse of taxpayer funds will have to face the fresh committee probe.

Two of those MPs are now senior members of Cabinet — Special Minister of State Gavin Jennings and Families Minister Jenny Mikakos.

Only the MPs who Ms Glass found had broken the Parliamentary Member’s Guide will be probed, including the so-called architect of the scheme, John Lenders.

Other witnesses could be called to appear, including staff involved in the scheme Ms Glass found had ripped-off taxpayers to the tune of almost $388,000.

Labor agreed to repay the money last week, but Mr Andrews has insisted that no one should face any punishment for their rorting because they had acted in “good faith”.

The Privileges Committee is a behind-closed-doors process, unless members vote to hold public hearings.

Liberal leader in the Legislative Council, Mary Wooldridge, said the party would “be seeking public hearings and publication of evidence”.

“If the Greens are genuine about transparency, they will support this approach which will allow the media and public to attend all hearings,” she said.

Greens spokesman for integrity, Sam Hibbins, said the committee would look at whether MPs breached a code of conduct, and acted in contempt of parliament.

“The Privileges Committee is specifically designed to hold MPs accountable to the parliamentary code of conduct and has the power to recommend sanctions,” he said.

This could include fines, suspensions or expulsions. Some MPs said the committee was in “uncharted waters” and would likely follow Legislative Assembly precedents.

In 2014, a Legislative Assembly privileges committee report into Liberal MP Geoff Shaw’s misuse of a parliamentary car recommended he repay money. The parliament voted to suspend the rorting MP for 11 sitting days.

The Legislative Council committee to decide on the fate of rorting Labor MPs will include two government MPs, three Coalition MPs, Greens MP Nina Springle and Vote 1 Local Jobs MP James Purcell.

It   will   report   by   June 19.

The Opposition is expected to continue to press Mr Andrews on Thursday over his 2015 assertion in parliament that no Ringwood campaign staff were paid by the taxpayer.

Ms Glass identified more than $20,000 was siphoned from the electorate office budgets to help pay for a full-time Community Action Network field organiser, Bastian Simrajh.

Mr Simrajh told Ombudsman investigators that he had applied for a full-time position advertised by the Labor Party and was surprised to hear he would be part-paid by parliament.

Mr Simrajh also said at interview that while Mr Leane had engaged with him when he was employed as his electorate officer, he had no direction from Eastern Victoria MP Matt Viney between April and November.

Ringwood does not fall within the Upper House seat of Eastern Victoria.

Mr Guy also quizzed Mr Andrews about the use of a parliamentary car to take “red shirt” campaign staff around the state during the final weeks of the last term. Mr Andrews said he rejected the premise of the question.

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