Multicultural Affairs Minister Andrew Giles helps Labor raise campaign cash at multicultural dinners

Daniel Andrews has denied an adviser to Victorian Multicultural Affairs Minister has acted inappropriately in helping to organise an event aimed at raising donations from the Tamil community.

Andrew Giles, second left, and state minister Ros Spence, second right, at the Tamil event

Daniel Andrews has denied that an adviser to Victorian Multicultural Affairs Minister Ros Spence has acted inappropriately in helping to organise an event aimed at raising political donations from Victoria’s Tamil community.

The Australian revealed on Monday that ministerial adviser Varnan Ganesh was one of the organisers of a lunch at the Gaylord Indian restaurant in Melbourne’s Docklands on October 16, where Tamil community members were charged either $100 or a “solidarity price” of $150 per ticket.

Albanese government Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs Andrew Giles was the headline guest at the event, which was held to raise money for Ms Spence’s election campaign for the newly created outer northern Melbourne seat of Kalkallo.

Mr Giles is also due to appear as the main attraction at a second Tamil community election campaign fundraiser this Sunday at the Maharaja Palace restaurant in Northcote, which is being held to ­bankroll the re-election campaign of state Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio.

Asked on Tuesday whether Mr Ganesh was still employed in Ms Spence’s office, the Victorian Premier said: “Why wouldn’t he be?”.

Asked whether he could guarantee that Mr Ganesh had only worked on the fundraiser during his private time, and not while engaged in his taxpayer-funded role, Mr Andrews said: “It’s my expectation that all staff act appropriately at all times, and I’m not aware of anybody not.”

Asked whether it was appropriate for Ms Spence to allow her adviser to work on a Labor Party fundraiser, Mr Andrews said: “It’s not a matter of the minister. The staff member behaves appropriately. All staff members behave appropriately, and if you want to put to me details that he didn’t, then it would be a different matter.”

Asked whether he was happy for government staff members working in taxpayer funded roles to also work on party fundraisers, Mr Andrews said: “What I’m happy about and what I require, is that staff act appropriately at all times, and I’m not aware of any suggestion to the contrary.”

Earlier on Tuesday, opposition government scrutiny spokeswoman Louise Staley confirmed she had written to IBAC Commissioner Robert Redlich, seeking an investigation into misuse of ministerial and staff resources to promote the Labor Party fundraisers.

“The joint IBAC/Ombudsman Operation Watts found there had been a misuse of taxpayer-funded resources for Labor Party political activities, particularly within multicultural communities,” Ms Staley said.

“Operation Watts uncovered the misuse of taxpayer-funded multicultural grants for communities being diverted back to the Victorian Labor Party.

“The use of ministerial offices for Labor Party activities is a breach of the ministerial and ministerial staff code of conduct.”

Section 2.8 of the code states that ministers and their staff “must have proper regard to efficient and effective government administration including ensuring that resources, facilities and personnel provided at public expense are not subject to wasteful or extravagant use and that due economy is observed”.

Section 2.9 says: “In particular, Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries are provided with various ‘ministerial’ office facilities and equipment at public expense in order that public business may be conducted. The use of these resources should be consistent with the requirements of section 2.8.”

Ms Staley alleged the fundraiser - at which Mr Giles was the headline guest - was also a breach of the Ministerial Fundraising Code, which states: “Corporate fundraising events can no longer promote privileged access to decision-makers or Ministers,” and that “Neither ministerial offices nor department facilities can be used for political fundraising purposes.”

“Once again Labor seems to honour codes more in their breach than in their application,” Ms Staley said.

“The only way to restore integrity and accountability to government is to vote for the Liberals and Nationals on November 26.”

Albanese minister in poll fundraising row

Andrew Giles is drawing on his status as the federal Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs to help raise political donations from Victoria’s Tamil community to bankroll the re-election campaigns of two Andrews government ministers.

Mr Giles’s first appearance as a political tin rattler for state Labor was as the star guest at the ­Gaylord Indian restaurant in Melbourne’s Docklands on October 16, where Tamil community members were charged either $100 or a “solidarity price” of $150 per ticket.

Mr Giles is also listed to appear as the main attraction at a second Tamil community election campaign fundraiser on Sunday to help the Victorian ALP raise funds for the November 26 election.

The October 16 lunch was promoted in brochures as a ­“Victorian Labor election campaign fundraiser” for the “Kalkallo Labor election campaign”.

Kalkallo is a newly created electorate being contested by Andrews government Multicultural Affairs Minister Ros Spence. She currently holds the seat of Yuroke.

Ms Spence’s ministerial ­adviser, Varnan Ganesh, helped organise the event and the ­brochure lists his name and ­mobile number as the point of contact.

Mr Ganesh confirmed his involvement in the campaign fundraiser when contacted by The Australian on Monday, but declined to comment further.

Victorian Labor Party fund raising brochures promoting the role of federal minister Andrew Giles.

Sunday’s dinner at the Maharaja Palace restaurant in Northcote, according to a brochure promoting the event, is to help raise election funds from the Tamil community to ­bankroll the re-election campaign of state Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio.

Tickets for the three-course buffet dinner are selling for $75, but the brochure also encourages Tamil community members to take out “sponsorship packages”. According to the brochure, attendees can purchase “gold sponsorships” for $500, “silver sponsorships” for $300 and “bronze sponsorships” for $100 in addition to the cost of a ticket.

Mr Ganesh’s Facebook page contained photos of him at the Sunday lunch and several ­comments on the site congratulate him for organising the ­fundraiser.

“It was well organised by you and memorable event,” one comment reads.

Ravi Ragupathy, an independent candidate running for a seat in the upper house, criticised Mr Giles over both Tamil events.

“Labor’s federal Minister for Multicultural Affairs should not be trading on his ministerial job to raise election campaign funds for state Labor,” Mr Ragupathy said.

“For a multicultural affairs minister to participate in a multicultural political fundraiser for Labor is not ethical and ­represents a clear conflict of interest.”

Mr Giles and his office failed to respond to multiple telephone and text messages from The Australian on Monday.

Mr Ragupathy was also critical of Mr Ganesh’s involvement in the October 16 Spence fundraiser.

A Victorian Labor Party fundraising brochure promoting Andrew Giles.

“A taxpayer-funded adviser should not be involving themselves in an event that is designed to raise election campaign funds for the Labor Party,” he said.

An Andrews government spokesperson pointed to the ministerial staff code of conduct, which states that party political work should be performed outside work hours or on annual or unpaid leave.

“It’s our expectation that staff comply with the Ministerial Staff Code of Conduct at all times, as is appropriate,” the spokesperson said.

Federal Liberal MP Dan Tehan, the opposition spokesman for immigration and citizenship, launched a blistering attack on Mr Giles over his involvement in the campaign fundraisers.

“Andrew Giles is more focused on getting Daniel Andrews re-elected than he is on addressing the workforce shortages plaguing small business,” Mr Tehan said.

“This is typical of how Labor use the immigration portfolio when in office. All about favours and nothing to do with integrity.”

Mr Ganesh’s involvement in his minister’s election fundraiser is expected to come under scrutiny from the Liberal opposition after key findings of IBAC’s Operation Watts, an anti-corruption inquiry into the misuse of taxpayer-funded resources, including ministerial advisers, by Victorian Labor.

In its report, released in July, IBAC recommended the ministerial code of conduct be strengthened so that “ministers must ensure that the public resources made available for performing their duties are not used for party-specific purposes”.

IBAC, in findings supported by the Andrews government, also recommended an “offence be created that provides that a minister who directs or allows a person to undertake party-specific activities while that person is employed to assist the minister in discharging their public duties is guilty of an offence”.

“The government, in formulating the offence and the penalty, should take account of … the degree of a minister’s intent or recklessness in directing or allowing the employee to undertake such activities.”