Corruption watchdog blasts Labor minister Harriet Shing

IBAC has voiced ‘grave concerns’ about a Labor-led parliamentary committee in a scathing attack.

IBAC has accused Labor MP Harriet Shing of ignoring the agency’s concerns. Picture: Andrew Tauber

A Liberal MP has accused the Labor chair of the parliamentary committee charged with overseeing IBAC of a “knee jerk” attack on the anti-corruption watchdog.

Brad Rowswell, the deputy chair of the integrity and oversight committee, said the newly appointed chair, Labor MP Gary Maas, had undermined the committee’s ongoing inquiry into witness welfare issues.

“The IBAC Commissioner was invited by the Committee to make a supplementary submission to the Committee’s inquiry into witness welfare,” Mr Rowswell said.

“The Commissioner is well within his rights to express a view on the process undertaken by the Committee.

“What is extraordinary, is the undermining of this legitimate submission by Labor’s newly appointed Committee Chair.

“This knee jerk response is possibly unprecedented and reeks of a limp political attack on a parliamentary process.”

IBAC has voiced “grave concerns” about a Labor-led parliamentary committee in a scathing attack ­accusing a senior Andrews government MP of snubbing the agency and subjecting it to “profound procedural unfairness”.

Victoria’s Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission has asserted the integrity and oversight committee’s inquiry into witness welfare has breached rules designed to prevent the committee from prejudicing the agency’s ongoing investigations.

In a new submission to the committee, sighted by The Australian, IBAC accused the IOC’s former chair, Labor MP Harriet Shing – recently promoted to Minister for Water, Regional ­Development and Equality – of ignoring its concerns.

“IBAC has grave concerns about the procedure that the committee has followed in undertaking its inquiry, which in IBAC’s view has involved significant departure from established principles of procedural fairness,” the agency states.

In its five-page submission, dated July 15, IBAC takes direct aim at Ms Shing, claiming her responses to the agency’s concerns contained “disappointing shortcomings”. Ms Shing did not respond to The Australian on Tuesday. But Labor’s new IOC chair, Gary Maas, hit out at IBAC on Tuesday night as tensions ­between the agency and the Labor-led committee exploded.

“This committee is the relevant oversight body of IBAC and has sought to examine the systems and frameworks that exist to manage witness welfare,” he said.

IBAC Commissioner Robert Redlich. Picture: AAP

“The language in IBAC’s submission only further demonstrates why that is necessary. The committee’s work is critically ­important, because no agency is beyond scrutiny.”

IBAC claims it has been ­ignored, stating: “Despite raising these issues on multiple occasions, the correspondence received to date from the previous chair of the committee (Ms Shing) has been unresponsive and/or has reinforced concerns.

“A proposal to overcome the profound procedural unfairness by resolution of either a private hearing (a suggestion the commissioner had previously made to the chair) or deferral of the committee’s report until the IBAC investigations that were the subject of the submission had been completed and any relevant reports tabled was ignored.”

IBAC’s stinging criticism of the IOC and the new minister raises the stakes in the emerging political battleground of integrity and corruption ahead of the November 26 election. In March, the parliamentary committee ordered an inquiry into the witness welfare record of IBAC and other integrity agencies after the suicide of a witness in Operation Sandon, a probe into allegedly corrupt land deals in Casey. Former Casey mayor Amanda Stapledon took her life just three days after receiving a draft report from IBAC.

The committee’s inquiry had already been engulfed in controversy on May 9 after Ms Shing shut down a public hearing when a Liberal MP asked IBAC Commissioner Robert Redlich why Premier Daniel Andrews was grilled in private rather than publicly over his links to a property developer at the centre of Operation Sandon.

Declaring “cut the feed”, Ms Shing suspended the livestream, drawing criticism that she intervened to prevent the committee examining why the Premier was examined in private. In its July 15 submission, IBAC states Ms Shing ignored Mr Redlich’s specific concerns and wrongly claimed the committee had complied with Section 7 (2) of its Act, which blocks the committee from holding a hearing that impacts on a live IBAC probe.

“The chair (Ms Shing) did not respond to these individual concerns,” the agency states. “Each of these matters set out … demonstrates conclusively that the claim that the committee sought to, and has complied with, section 7(2) is simply wrong.

“The response makes no ­attempt to explain how the profound unfairness would be addressed arising from the fact that the committee’s reason for announcing an inquiry was to explore matters relating to an ongoing investigation.

“These disappointing shortcomings in the chair’s response and the committee’s management of this inquiry have ultimately adversely affected all entities involved ... the members of the public who have been invited to make submissions, the integrity agencies who have not had the opportunity to respond to allegations or concerns raised, the committee members whose views have been tainted by improperly received information, and the broader community in reducing trust in the integrity system.”

IBAC has reiterated existing concerns the IOC’s inquiry was in direct response to the “events concerning a witness in Operation Sandon” and, as such, should not have been conducted, and that the committee further erred by inviting public submissions.

IBAC has requested the committee delay its report until Operation Sandon is completed or hold a private hearing.

“Failing to follow either course would mean that the procedural unfairness will not have been addressed, and the strong perception will remain that any conclusions of fact reached by the committee will be tainted,” its submission states. “There has been little or no engagement by the committee with IBAC that would provide IBAC with an opportunity to respond to any preliminary thoughts the committee has.”

IBAC has raised concerns about submissions to the IOC leaking to the media. In a cover letter to the submission, Mr Redlich has requested the follow-up statement be placed on the committee’s website. The submission was posted on the website shortly after 5pm on Tuesday.

If you or someone you know is at risk of suicide, call: Lifeline: 13 11 14 or lifeline.org.au; Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636 or beyondblue.org.au