IBAC: Daniel Andrews claims successes, dodges failures

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews (second left) and Marlene Kairouz (right) are seen with Labor party supporters wearing red shirts in Melbourne, 2018. Picture: AAP.

After Labor’s “red shirts” rort was exposed on September 2, 2015, Dan Andrews was both indignant and highhanded in equal measure.

The Premier, elected less than a year earlier with the help of his “red shirt” campaigners, came out swinging to kill the front page of that day’s Herald Sun.

Andrews said he made “no apology” for the scheme, insisted the “rules have been followed” and what’s more, “all sides of politics have done it”.

But Andrews wasn’t finished, pressing on to make this an issue of personal integrity and political leadership:

“I take responsibility for each and every thing that happens under my leadership of the Labor Party and my leadership of the government.

“Might I say, without being too self-praising, that that’s a relatively novel view. There are not too many political leaders that are prepared to say that, but that’s the way I operate.”

Seven years later, as the “red shirts” was again in the news on Thursday, it’s worth recalling Andrews’ defence as it neatly illustrates the moral and ethical black hole from which this government and premier run the state.

Let’s dismantle his statement in two quick steps:

Firstly, the rules were not followed. As the ombudsman found in 2018, Labor, under Andrews, established an “artifice” to divert $388,000 in taxpayers funds to bankroll the “red shirts”. Only after being caught did Andrews express regret and repay the money.

Secondly, Andrews has shown repeatedly that he doesn’t take responsibility for “everything that happens under my leadership”, choosing to only own the successes.

Andrews has stood by his claim for years that he was unaware of the rort that funded the “red shirts” but a number of Labor MPs have said they warned him about their concerns.

One of Andrews’ strengths is his controlling personality which, in the cut and thrust of politics, can be an asset. But at the same time, he wants us to believe that he was unaware that his trusted ally and “red shirts” architect, John Lenders, was running around caucus in 2014 leaning on MPs to sign up to the rort.

Then there’s his refusal to resign over the fatal failings of his government’s hotel quarantine program in the first year of the pandemic that allowed coronavirus to leak, resulting in the deaths of hundreds and the 112-day lockdown of Melbourne.

Resigning to take responsibility for the catastrophe was quickly reframed by the premier as “cutting and running” and he needed to stay at the helm to lead the state to safety.

On Thursday, details of an interim report by the independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission emerged in Nine newspapers. It was highly critical of everything from the “red shirts” to branch stacking and misuse of public resources, including ministerial jobs, by the Victorian ALP. We learned that Andrews had been privately grilled by IBAC.

It’s a shame IBAC chose to question him in private. Under its charter, IBAC can decide to hold a public examination if there is a strong public interest basis for the hearing. Having a premier publicly examined about unethical behaviour within his own party — of which he has been the assistant state secretary during a branch stacking war, MP, minister and now leader for decades — somehow didn’t meet the public interest test.

Twenty one Labor MPs agreed to participate in the “red shirts” rort.

Even Martin Pakula, who would go on to become attorney general, the state’s chief law officer, signed up. Curiously, as far as the ombudsman could find, Andrews didn’t take part directly in the rort.

As one veteran Labor MP observed to The Australian; “He’s way too smart to actually do what his party was pressuring us to do.”