Victorian MPs dispute Premier’s claim they did not raise concerns with him
A HECKLER has screamed obscenities at Premier Daniel Andrews this morning over the rorts-for-votes scheme, before ringing up a radio station to own up to it. WATCH THE VIDEO
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A HECKLER has sledged Premier Daniel Andrews at a press conference this morning over the rorts-for-votes scheme, before ringing up a radio station to own up to it.
The man called Mr Andrews a “dodgy c---” as they passed the Premier in a car. He then did a u-turn and screamed “pay back our f---en money”.
The sledge came after yesterday’s release of a report by Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass on the rorts-for-votes scheme which has thrown the government into crisis.
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After spending two and a half years denying the party did anything wrong, Mr Andrews finally apologised yesterday, saying the $388,000 had been repaid.
The heckler later went on radio station 3AW and said he screamed at the Premier because he felt he was a voiceless low income earner, who politicians refuse to listen to.
Asked what he was objecting to the man said: “Mainly the cover-up, we’re all sick of tired of the waste of money.”
“We’re just sick of it basically,” he said. “Why are we working so hard to see our money just be wasted?”
But not all of the public’s comment were negative with one man screaming out “woo hoo go Dan Andrews.”
Mr Andrews ignored all of the vocal interruptions.
LABOR MPS SAY PREMIER KNEW ABOUT FEARS OVER FUNDING
LABOR MPs have broken ranks to dispute Daniel Andrews’ claim that MPs did not raise concerns with him about the “red shirts” election funding model as the Premier doubled down on his denial.
One MP last night decided to speak up after seeing the Premier tell Victorians, when asked if colleagues had questioned the arrangement with him: “I don’t believe so”. The MP said: “After watching him on the news and denying it, I can’t stay silent even for the sake of the party.
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“He (the Premier) knew about concerns about the funding model. I and several other MPs raised it with him. We told him it was a nonsense.
“We were willing to back him, but he’s just thrown people under the bus today. We raised the funding with him personally. Despite that, Daniel personally urged MPs to participate.”
A second MP said there was “heaps of chatter” about how campaigners were being paid, adding: “It was common knowledge that Daniel and John (former state treasurer John Lenders) were putting people under huge pressure to participate in the scheme.”
The rorts-for-votes scheme saw taxpayers cheated of almost $388,000.
The sensational comments will heap further pressure on Mr Andrews, with the report by Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass, released on Wednesday, throwing his government into crisis.
The rorts-for-votes scheme was revealed by the Herald Sun in September 2015.
After spending two and a half years denying the party did anything wrong, Mr Andrews finally apologised on Wednesday, saying the $388,000 had been repaid.
He said he could not recall if the funding scheme — described by the Ombudsman as “wrong” — was discussed by the party’s campaign committee, or raised with him personally.
“You’ve just asked me, ‘Did I have a conversation? Did people raise these matters to me?’ And I’ve indicated to you I don’t believe so,” he said.
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But despite the finding Mr Andrews denied his election win was illegitimate.
“If people want to run around telling the Victorian community that they are foolish and they got it wrong, good luck to them,” he said.
Mr Andrews said the 21 MPs named in the Ombudsman’s report as providing electoral staff for the scheme were working on the assumption the scheme was an extension of longstanding MPs pooling arrangements.
And he said he never believed the scheme was ‘dodgy.’
“The notion that there were people concerned and they chose to raise these matters, that is not what the Ombudsman finds, she found the opposite.
“They were working on the logical assumption that this was an extension of the longstanding pooling arrangements.”
Mr Andrews denied the government had spent $1 million in legal fees blocking the Ombudsman report, but he would not reveal the amount spent on lawyers.
“I don’t think the expenses incurred were very much at all, no where near the $1 million figure.”
He said his government would deliver each of the reforms the Ombudsman recommended and the Labor Party had repaid all the money owed to the taxpayer.
Narre Warren North MP Luke Donnellan, who’s field organiser was paid for out of the electoral office expense, said he believed it was a pooled staffed arrangement.
“This is pooled staff arrangement which had been going on for 20 years.”
FRESH PUSH FOR PARLIAMENTARY PROBE
THE Andrews Government could face another rorts-for-votes investigation with a fresh push for a parliamentary probe.
The state opposition will call for a Legislative Council select committee when parliament returns next week.
Opposition Leader Matthew Guy said the new probe was needed because the government had frustrated the Ombudsman’s investigation.
“Labor can only hide this for so long,” he said.
“They can hide from the Ombudsman but they can’t run from the parliament.
“We are going to use the parliament to find the amount that they’ve stolen from the taxpayer.”
Lower house Labor MPs, both former and current, used Legislative Assembly privilege to avoid cooperating in the Ombudsman Deborah Glass’ investigation.
Her damning report, released yesterday, says she opted not to challenge their claim of privilege in court because enough public money had already been spent.
Ms Glass also notes that only nine of 21 field organisers were interviewed and only one agreed to do so on the first request.
Mr Guy said although the committee would not have the power to compel lower house MPs to appear, it “does have the ability to get material of lower house MPs through parliamentary services”.
The opposition will need support from the Greens and crossbench to get the select committee off the ground.
PAKULA DENIES ANDREWS’ LEADERSHIP IS IN DANGER
ATTORNEY General Martin Pakula spoke on 3AW defending Mr Andrews and the government over the rorts-for-votes scheme.
The Premier “didn’t recall anyone raising (concerns about the arrangement) with him”, according to Mr Pakula.
He did not deny it happened but called on the sources to come forward so the claim could be publicly tested.
“I note that people doing that are anonymous,” he said
“You give more credibility to these things when people put their names to it.”
Mr Pakula defended his colleagues and said the report signalled out John Lenders.
“It’s clear from the report that the Ombudsman placed the greatest blame, if you like, on John and John can answer to that.”
The senior member of the government also denied claims Mr Andrews’ position as leader was in doubt for the next election.
However, he conceded today’s reports suggested unrest within the ranks.
CAMPAIGN WORK WAS IMPROPERLY PAID
Mr Andrews now faces a wave of anger from Labor colleagues who have to defend the Ombudsman’s findings in a tough re-election fight.
Ms Glass has found that more than 1100 days of campaign work was improperly paid for out of state MPs’ parliamentary budgets.
She found that the MPs — including Special Minister of State Gavin Jennings, Attorney-General Martin Pakula, Sports Minister John Eren and Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio — hired 20 staff as electorate officers as they led an army of 5500 “red shirt” volunteers campaigning in marginal state seats.
On Wednesday night MPs across factions were questioning Mr Andrews’ judgment, particularly the decision to spend up to $1 million on failed court challenges to stop Ms Glass from investigating and delaying the findings until an election year.
Opposition Leader Matthew Guy said simply paying back money was not enough and questioned why no one had been held accountable for the rort.
“If you take money from your employer you usually lose your job, why does Daniel Andrews think it is OK that these MPs got to keep theirs?” he said.
Ms Glass pointed to pre-filled time-sheets and job advertisements for full-time Labor campaigners as evidence of a cunning operation designed to maximise campaign coffers.
“The arrangement to employ field organisers as electorate officers was an artifice to secure partial payment for the campaign out of parliamentary funds, and was wrong,” she says.
Field organisers were paid three days a week by the party, and two days a week by the state parliament.
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The Herald Sun has confirmed several Labor MPs who participated in the scheme were concerned about “giving up” taxpayer-funded staff for other candidates.
It can be revealed that John Eren, now Sports Minister, wanted information from scam architect John Lenders about the “red shirts” funding split.
“Eren was very cautious, and asked Lenders for more details around the legality of it,” a party source said.
“Lenders assured him it was simply an extension of the traditional pooling arrangement ... it was only after that he agreed to sign up to it.”
Another MP said Mr Lenders was asked for written advice from the Department of Parliamentary Services showing the scheme was above board.
“That letter never arrived,” the MP said.
A number of caucus members say the premier should have neutralised the crisis two years ago, rather than wasting more than $1 million in public money on three failed legal challenges to thwart the inquiry.
“The failed strategy to cover up the scandal has simply resulted in more pain closer to the election,” said one Labor figure.
Wendouree MP Sharon Knight — named in the report for benefiting from a field officer supplied by MP Joe Helper’s electorate office budget — said she was told all staff were paid for by the Labor Party.
“It was my understanding they were a resource provided wholly by the party,” she said.
Another MP said those elected into marginal seats in 2014 have now been painted as rorters despite having no control over how their campaign staff were paid.
Ms Glass’s report says that Mr Lenders designed the scheme in consultation with the campaign committee and the then state ALP secretary, Noah Carroll.
The scheme “crossed the line”, Ms Glass concludes, with rules being broken to “maximise the use of resources available to the party for the 2014 campaign”.
The premier said the ombudsman’s push for a parliamentary integrity adviser to be created was being adopted, and that all other recommendations would be completed.
THE BUCK STOPS WITH ANDREWS
PREMIER Daniel Andrews insists no one should lose their job over the rorts-for-votes scheme — despite agreeing the ALP should repay the $388,000 it siphoned from taxpayers.
Two-and-a-half years after asserting he took responsibility for everything that happened under his leadership, Mr Andrews on Wednesday said repaying the money and tightening the rules on electorate office spending would suffice.
After ducking several questions on whether he would apologise to taxpayers for the scam, the premier finally uttered the s-word. “I am sorry that this has occurred,” he said.
In 2015, Mr Andrews denied whistleblower allegations — now proven by Ombudsman Deborah Glass — insisting no rules were broken.
He said at the time: “All sides of politics have done it and the rules have been followed.”
On Wednesday, Mr Andrews said the party had repaid the full amount rorted, even though he believed some of the money would have been used on electorate office work.
But the government is still refusing to pay up to $1.5 million in legal costs wasted during its court battle to block the Ombudsman’s investigation.
Attorney-General Martin Pakula said a Supreme Court dispute — which the government lost before going to the Court of Appeal and High Court — was important in testing matters of principle about the power of parliaments to refer matters to an integrity body.
“The legal principles that were tested in this matter were very important principles to be tested,” Mr Pakula said.
“Everybody is now much the wiser about the powers of the parliament to make referrals.”
Mr Andrews defiantly said Ms Glass’s report on the rorts-for-votes scandal had not recommended action against any of the 21 MPs named as misusing taxpayer money to help boost the Labor campaign.
“There are no recommendations of any action against anyone in the report that has been tabled,” he said.
“What’s more, the Ombudsman finds and details very clearly that all of us were operating on the not unreasonable assumption that ... this was an extension of longstanding pooling arrangements.
“I will apologise, absolutely I would very much prefer this had not occurred.”
The grudging about-face by Mr Andrews came only a day after Deputy Premier James Merlino said he was confident all the “activities were within the rules”.
But Mr Andrews said after seeing the Ombudsman’s draft report — which was sent to MPs several weeks ago — he told the party’s state secretary they would need to repay the money.
“That is taking responsibility as the leader of our party to do what I believe is the right thing,” he said.
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