Anthony Byrne says he’s staying put at least until IBAC reports

Under-siege Labor MP Anthony Byrne has vowed to remain a member of Anthony Albanese’s team until a report by IBAC on corruption of Victorian public officials is handed down.

Labor MP Anthony Byrne. Picture: AAP

Under-siege Labor MP Anthony Byrne has vowed to remain a member of Anthony Albanese’s team until a report by IBAC on corruption of Victorian public officials is handed down, which is unlikely to come before next year.

The veteran Labor MP, who admitted to branch stacking and misusing commonwealth-funded staff, also declared his intention to stay on as deputy chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security.

Federal Labor members have told The Australian they believed Mr Byrne’s position in the party was “untenable” after he admitted to breaking party rules, with some arguing the Opposition Leader should banish him to the crossbench until the election.

But Mr Byrne said he would delay a decision on his political ­career until the final report from the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission was made public.

“I will await the findings of the IBAC report before determining my political future,” Mr Byrne said, adding that he intended to ­remain a member of the PJCIS.

The Operation Watts public hearings are scheduled to go for five weeks, with its report on ­corruption of Victorian public ­officials expected to be finalised next year.

Mr Byrne has been preselected as the candidate for the outer Melbourne seat of Holt for the next election, although Labor senator Kimberley Kitching told Sky News there were “strong rumours” he was planning to retire.

Mr Byrne has told IBAC that he engaged in branch stacking and hiring taxpayer-funded staff who never turned up to work ­because they were engaged in Labor political work.

Mr Albanese backed a national executive takeover of the Victorian branch when it was revealed former powerbroker Adem Somyurek was branch stacking.

The Opposition Leader also supported Mr Somyurek’s expulsion from the party.

But Mr Albanese is refusing to take action against Mr Byrne until the IBAC process is finalised, despite Mr Byrne admitting the wrongdoing. “The IBAC processes are under way and it’s important they be allowed to take place independent of political interference. That’s an important principle and one I support,” he said.

Some Labor MPs argue the party’s failure to deal earlier with Mr Byrne would dent its attacks on the integrity of the Morrison government, including its focus on the Christian Porter scandal and the absence of a national anti-corruption commission.

Mr Byrne’s supporters say he has been given cover by IBAC Commissioner Robert Redlich praising the MP’s honesty in the hearings.

Labor frontbencher Tanya Plibersek described Mr Byrne as a “whistleblower”.

PJCIS chair, Liberal senator James Paterson, said Mr Byrne’s future on the committee was up to Mr Albanese.

“He’s been a very constructive, very collaborative, very bipartisan person who’s very much driven by the national interest,” Senator Paterson said.