COVID-19: Daniel defiant on $1.2m ‘performance research’ contract

The Victorian opposition will move to refer a $1.2m deal handed to a Labor political strategist without a competitive tender to the state’s integrity watchdog.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews. Picture: Paul Jeffers

The Victorian opposition will move to refer a $1.2m deal handed to a Labor political strategist ­without a competitive tender to the state’s integrity watchdog.

Liberal MP David Davis told parliament he would ask the Upper House to refer the QDOS Research contract and the firm’s secretive work monitoring the views of Victorians, including their reaction to lockdown restrictions, to Ombudsman Deborah Glass.

The Australian has revealed the government ordered taxpayer-funded research firm QDOS to conduct extensive community surveys to assess the political impact of the state’s 112-day lockdown. Victorians were asked to score the government’s performance, including its leadership, out of 10.

At the height of the second wave in August last year, QDOS head strategist John Armitage presented a detailed analysis of how Victorians rated Premier Daniel Andrews’ handling of the pandemic to the crisis cabinet.

Mr Andrews’ private office was heavily involved in the QDOS ­research, with members of his staff helping draft and approve questions for surveys.

The opposition’s move came as the Premier said he made no apologies for “listening to the community”, saying that all governments spent taxpayer money on research.

During question time on Tuesday, Mr Andrews said the ­arrangement with QDOS was “wholly consistent” with the conduct of previous administrations, including that of former Victorian Liberal premier Jeff Kennett.

“If the member for Ripon ­expects me to stand up here and apologise for listening to the Victorian community … don’t hold your breath waiting for me to do that because I won’t,” he said in response to a question by opposition Treasury spokeswoman Louise Staley. Mr Andrews then pointed out that former opposition leader Matthew Guy had acted as director of research during the Kennett administration in the 1990s.

“I’ll venture a guess that he (Mr Guy) wasn’t popping down to the library doing that sort of ­research,” he said. “I think his ­research might have been wholly different and wholly consistent with what this government does.”

The Andrews government began working with QDOS on a large-scale monitoring program on the views of Victorians two weeks before it awarded the company a $1.2m contract without a competitive tender.

According to government documents obtained under Freedom of Information laws, QDOS was paid $224,000 for the remaining seven months of 2019-20 and $385,000 for each of the next two financial years.

The company will be paid $128,000 for the final four months of the deal, which expires just weeks before the next state election in October 2022.

Earlier on Tuesday, Victorian Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes said she had neither been present at nor watched a recording of the briefing given by Mr Armitage or representatives from QDOS.

“I haven’t been involved in conversations that align with the description that you have put to the house,” she said.

“But I would say that all governments around Australia, both federal and state, seek community feedback and gauge opinions on how services are delivered.”

In response to questions by ­opposition legal affairs spokesman Edward O’Donohue, Ms Symes said researching and responding to community sentiment was good government.

“Using research, using organisations and indeed the public service to seek the opinions of the community is good government and good practice,” she said.

“We make no apology to speaking to the community.”