Former Labor powerbroker Adem Somyurek says electorate officer recruits would have ‘not much to do’

An electorate officer hired by a former Labor powerbroker was told not to show up to his office, an anti-corruption inquiry has been told.

Former Labor powerbroker Adem Somyurek has denied telling someone employed casually in his electorate office not to turn up.

Mr Somyurek was grilled for a second day after his bombshell evidence on Monday accused Labor’s most senior leaders of branch stacking to sway power in Victoria.

The Independent Broad-Based Anti-Corruption Commission (IBAC) on Tuesday was shown timesheets for Jacob Cripps, who was hired casually at Mr Somyurek’s electorate office.

Mr Cripps told investigators he was told “not to go” to Mr Somyurek’s office, counsel assisting the inquiry Chris Carr said.

“That is absolutely not true,” Mr Somyurek replied.

“His evidence is he did not do any electorate officer work at all during any of these shifts,” Mr Carr continued.

“It was effectively just a charitable thing that he’d be given what I’ll characterise as free money by the taxpayer, as he was going through a hard time.”

“Not true,” Mr Somyurek replied.

Adem Somyurek responding to the IBAC allegations.

Conversations were also played to the inquiry in which Mr Somyurek referred to the employment of Hakki Suleyman in an electorate office as being part of a “deal”.

He also told Mr Suleyman’s children, including St Albans MP Natalie Suleyman, he was “furious” at their demands to find their father work after he switched factions and was sacked from another MP’s office.

“U (sic) ask that your dad work in Anthony (Byrne’s) office without having to turn up — what about Anthony’s name?” he asks.

IBAC is investigating the misuse of taxpayer staff and resources, and probing whether public officers including MPs engaged in corrupt conduct while in public office by telling ministerial and electorate office staff to do party-political work while they were being paid from the public purse to do ministerial or electorate work.

There is no suggestion of anything improper by the Suleymans.

Mr Somyurek told the inquiry he rationalised the cost of employing electorate officers with the fact he didn’t use up his total MP allowance.

Audio was also played to the inquiry of a four-hour meeting involving Mr Somyurek and accused branch stacker Marlene Kairouz in which they talked factional strategies during taxpayer-funded time.

“I got initiated into this culture and it was all sort of intertwined,” Mr Somyurek said of the Labor party’s branch stacking.

“Engaging a party organisation is important for any member of any political party because that’s the way you do retain your job.

“Strictly speaking, that’s not part of your brief as a minister and as a member of parliament, although legislation isn’t clear on that.”

Commissioner Robert Redlich said “we might come back to the question” of whether it was clear.

Counsel assisting Chris Carr quizzed Mr Somyurek on the alleged corruption. Picture: James Ross/AAP

Mr Somyurek told the inquiry he never told electorate officer staff they were not to do factional work during office hours.

In yet another conversation in February 2020, the former powerbroker is heard talking about how two men would be hired as electorate officers despite having little work to do.

“I mean, these guys are gonna be in a f**king office, not much to do. They need to be doing grunt work, but I want them to sort of report, too,” Mr Somyurek says.

Counsel assisting Chris Carr seized on the conversation, saying: “Obviously, you’ve arranged for these two gentlemen jobs that don’t involve any substantial amount of real work?”

Mr Somyurek replied they also had to do electorate work as well as factional work.

“There isn’t factional work to do on a day in, day out basis - there just isn’t,” he added.

Mr Somyurek denied his involvement in factional politics was for power, saying it brought him “plenty of headaches” and “this is where I am now because of all of that”.

Mr Somyurek made bold claims about Premier Daniel Andrews during his first day of evidence. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Ian Currie

The evidence comes after Mr Somyurek on Monday levelled astonishing claims against his factional rival Daniel Andrews over the now infamous red shirts scandal, which involved using office staffers to campaign during the state poll.

Mr Somyurek told the hearing when he raised concerns about the “gold standard” rort with Mr Andrews, the now Premier responded with “words to the effect of ‘do you want to win an election or not?’”

The scandal led to the Victorian Labor Party repaying $388,000 in taxpayer money after the ombudsman found it misused parliamentary allowances.