IBAC commissioner prevented from giving update on Operation Richmond

A Labor MP has attempted to stop questions about IBAC’s Operation Richmond inquiry from being put to Victoria’s anti-corruption watchdog.

A bickering match between members of a parliamentary committee has prevented Victoria’s anti-corruption watchdog from being asked to provide an update on its marathon investigation into dealings between the former Andrews government and the firefighters’ union.

Liberal MP Kim Wells, who also serves as the deputy chair to the state parliament’s integrity and oversight committee, sought a timeline on the delivery of the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission’s report into Operation Richmond.

The probe into 2016 pay and conditions negotiations between Labor and the United Firefighters Union has been running since 2019, with delays due to multiple legal hurdles.

However, Mr Wells’ attempt to get an update from IBAC commissioner Victoria Elliott on Operation Richmond on Monday was fought by Labor backbencher Ryan Batchelor.

Mr Batchelor interrupted the line of questioning, and argued that the question could not be asked as it would be contrary to the Parliamentary Committees Act.

Committee chair Tim Read said he was happy to allow for a question on timing.

“I think we can leave it to the commissioner’s judgment as to whether they can answer that,” the Greens MP decided after a back and forth.

However, the Labor MP argued it was within Dr Read’s remit to decide whether the committee was complying with the law and repeatedly advised against the question being asked.

The argument took up four minutes of the limited time Ms Elliott had with the committee before Mr Read resolved to seek advice on the question after the hearing, “rather than waste everybody’s time having this argument”. “IBAC reports on matters when it’s able to report on those matters, when they are able to be in the public domain. It does not report on ongoing matters,” Ms Elliott said.

Premier Jacinta Allan makes an announcement regarding residential developments in Cheltenham together with City of Kingston mayor Jenna Davey-Burns and Ryan Batchelor MP, second left. Picture: NewsWire/Valeriu Campan

“You might not get a snapshot of all of the report investigations, because we’d have to … go through a natural justice process on anything that we put in a public forum.”

The anti-corruption watchdog boss told the committee she was unable to answer questions about possible past lawsuits hindering the release of reports, but said that no IBAC reports were being held up by current legal action.

IBAC wrote to Operation Richmond witnesses in May to warn them the inquiry had struck another legal hurdle and conceded the fresh delay “can further feelings of frustration” with the process.

Some witnesses, during their secret questioning by the agency, were grilled about the role of then premier Daniel Andrews in the enterprise bargaining agreement talks with UFU state secretary Peter Marshall.

Victorian Liberal MP Kim Wells

The Australian believes Mr Andrews was secretly examined as part of Operation Richmond, but both the former premier and agency repeatedly refuse to confirm or deny he was privately questioned.

Separately, Victorian Ombudsman Marlo Baragwanath also fronted the committee and said there was “a lot of strain” in juggling all its tasks, including complaints from the public and matters referred by parliament.

“At the moment, we’re in the process of trying to recruit some additional investigators to backfill the positions of the investigators that are working on the parliamentary referrals. The issue with that, though, is that it’s very hard to recruit quickly,” she said.