IBAC: Adem Somyurek spills more beans about Daniel Andrews

All Victorian Labor politicians including Daniel Andrews completed a factional ‘apprenticeship’ at the start of their careers, an anti-corruption inquiry has heard.

Adem Somyurek gives evidence at IBAC.

All Victorian Labor politicians, including Daniel Andrews, completed a factional “apprentic­eship” at the start of their careers, as an anti-corruption hearing was told “patronage, spoils and nepotism” led to family members being given taxpayer-funded jobs.

Former powerbroker Adem Somyurek admitted he was “living proof” of the consequences of decades of operating within an unethical culture, but denied he was aberration or an outlier.

The upper house MP told the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission on Thursday that all Victorian Labor politicians engaged in factionalism, including the Premier, at the start of their careers.

“Mr Andrews went through this apprenticeship; they all did,” Mr Somyurek said.

The inquiry heard audio recordings of Mr Somyurek threatening to sack Nick McLennan, then ministerial adviser to Consumer Affairs Minister Marlene Kairouz, for failing to complete or completing badly factional work for the Labor Party.

Mr Somyurek stressed the ­factional activity was outside of hours but admitted he had lost perspective at the time, telling the IBAC inquiry that he shouldn’t have done any of the behaviour caught on camera or audio.

He said that at the time of the recordings, he was juggling his ministerial responsibilities with fighting a factional war against the Socialist Left in Melbourne’s southeast suburbs that made him angry at the Victorian Premier.

“Daniel Andrews wasn’t my favourite person too because it was his mates doing it (recruiting in the southeast),” he said. “I was an angry man … I don’t like the boofhead in those recordings.”

He said he was angry at Mr McLennan for prioritising football, netball and cricket training ahead of factional activities but conceded he had become obsessive and got carried away.

“I should have just said. ‘Oh, whatever’. I should have just enjoyed being a minister … I really shouldn't have done any of this,” he said. “I lost my ministry because of it.”

Mr Somyurek earlier this week alleged he and Mr Andrews hatched out a deal to end factional battles in Melbourne’s southeast around 2002, which the Victorian Premier has refused to confirm or deny.

IBAC was shown a diagram outlining where the family members of moderate Labor politicians had been employed in taxpayer-funded positions, including in the offices of upper house MP Kaushaliya Vaghela and former multicultural affairs minister Robin Scott.

Mr Somyurek admitted this was “patronage, spoils and nepotism” but maintained that was how the system worked. “That’s exactly how I was employed in the ­system … I’ll be condemned with everyone else,” he said.