IBAC secretly grilled Daniel Andrews for its probe into ALP branch stacking and misuse of public funds

Daniel Andrews denies his government is ‘corrupt and unethical’, amid revelations he’s been grilled in a secret by IBAC.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews. Picture: NCA NewsWire /Brendan Beckett

Daniel Andrews has labelled questions over whether he leads a “corrupt and unethical” government “ridiculous”, amid revelations he has been grilled in a secret by Victoria’s anti-corruption commission as part of an investigation into branch stacking and misuse of public funds with the ALP.

The Victorian Premier was questioned during a private hearing about unethical behaviour, as part of IBAC’s “Operation Watts” probe into factional power plays by dumped former labor minister Adem Somyurek.

The Australian has confirmed the Premier was called before IBAC but a decision was made to conduct the inquisition behind closed doors.

Asked at his press conference on Thursday in the outer eastern Melbourne suburb of Ringwood whether he led a “corrupt and unethical” government, Mr Andrews said: “That’s a ridiculous suggestion.”

“It’s a ridiculous suggestion. That’s my answer to your question. I probably couldn’t be any clearer. I don’t wish to be rude in any way, but I think it’s very, very clear answer to your question,” the Premier said when presser further.

Asked whether the redshirts rorts – which saw the Victorian ALP repay almost $400,000 of misused taxpayer funds, Operation Watts, and two IBAC investigations into the United Firefighters’ Union’s relationship with his government were evidence of an “unethical pattern”, Mr Andrews said: “No. That’s completely and utterly wrong, and to suggest that is completely and utterly wrong.”

Facing more than 15 minutes of questioning over the issue, Mr Andrews repeatedly refused to answer, saying: “I’m not making any comments about those matters, unless and until a final report is handed down.”

Former Labor powerbroker Adem Somyurek accused IBAC of “leaking” its findings in contravention of its own legislation.

The upper house crossbencher – who is himself being publicly investigated for his moderate Labor faction’s alleged involvement in “industrial scale” branch-stacking – also questioned IBAC’s decision to question the Premier privately.

“IBAC has leaked throughout the two year process,” Mr Somyurek tweeted on Thursday morning.

“Today’s leak is IBAC sticking (its) middle finger up at its own legislation which seeks to guarantee natural justice. IBAC’s drop of its report before those mentioned in (the) report have a chance to respond is a denial of procedural fairness.”

“When an integrity body illegally puts media strategy ahead of fact finding there is something rotten in the organisation.

“I expect a full and thorough investigation (into) why IBAC has breached its own legislation.

“If Dan was grilled by IBAC why wasn’t it done publicly?”

IBAC has leaked throughout the two year process, todays leak is IBAC sticking d middle finger up at its own legislation which seeks to guarantee natural justice. IBACs drop of its report before those mentioned in report have a chance to respond is a denial of procedural fairness

— Adem Somyurek MP (@AdemSomyurek) April 27, 2022

Mr Somyurek accused the Premier of knowing “a lot” about his Socialist Left group’s factional operations.

“Dan knows a lot about branch stacking & SL operatives organising the SL from MPs’ including ministers’ offices,” he tweeted.

“The threshold question is did IBAC investigate Dan’s faction? Don’t be fooled by today’s drop. IBAC is protecting Dan,” Mr Somyurek alleged.

The revelation that the premier was not questioned in public is likely to come under criticism from the Liberal Opposition today.

Nine newspapers reported today that the draft report by IBAC into Operation Watts has concluded that the culture within the ALP was unethical and led to the misuse of public funds, jobs for factional mates and that Mr Andrews had conceded that the ALP needed reform.

The revelations will place federal Labor and Opposition leader Anthony Albanese under pressure too in the midst of the federal election.

Andrews says timing of report’s release not a matter for him

Mr Andrews said the timing of the release of the IBAC report was “a matter for the people who’ve written it”.

“You can’t expect me to answer that. You’d have to speak to them,” he said.

Asked whether he or his government expected to launch any legal challenges to delay the report’s release, Mr Andrews said: “No.”

Asked whether he could commit to an unredacted report being tabled in full in state parliament, Mr Andrews said: “Well no, that’s a function of law. That’s a function of the statute as it operates now, and as for when, how, what, all of those matters, this is not a government process.”

“The name kind of gives it away – it’s an independent process and you’d have to speak to them.”

Asked whether he had read IBAC’s interim report himself, Mr Andrew said: “No”.

The public aspects of IBAC’s investigation have so far focused on Mr Somyurek and other members of his faction.

An unprecedented intervention into the Victorian ALP, ordered by Mr Andrews and federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese in June 2020, in response to the Somyurek branch stacking allegations, has seen grassroots members denied a vote on party matters until 2023, and members of Mr Somyurek’s faction disendorsed ahead of the November state election.

Asked whether he was confident the wrongdoing was confined to one Labor faction, Mr Andrews disputed the assertion that public actions taken by him and IBAC had been focused only on Mr Somyurek’s moderate group.

“I’m not certain of that at all. I don’t know that you can draw that conclusion,” he said.

“This is where you can be somewhat at a disadvantage when you’re not prepared to trample all over processes. Sometimes that means that you’re not in a position to refute things that are plainly wrong, or to offer a more factual account of things.

“I won’t do that, because that’s not appropriate. This process is not finished. When it’s finished, then we’ll be able to talk about it. Until then, it is not appropriate to do that. And that’s why I will not speak to these issues in the broad, general or specific, until the final report is handed in.”

Asked whether he was confident his Socialist Left faction had not been involved in branch-stacking, Mr Andrews deflected, saying: “You know, ‘my’ this ‘my’ that. What I focus on and what I’m confident about is that my duties, every day, involve me working as hard as I possibly can to deliver on the commitments that we’ve made.”