Dan Tehan turns up heat on Andrew Giles’ fundraising

Multicultural Affairs Minister Andrew Giles is under pressure to withdraw from a second Tamil community election fundraiser for the Victorian ALP.

Andrew Giles is facing questions over whether it was appropriate for the federal Multicultural Affairs Minister to attend multicultural campaign events for Victorian Labor. Picture: AAP

Andrew Giles is under pressure to withdraw from a second Tamil community election fundraiser for the Victorian ALP amid a widening controversy over his appearance at the election events.

Opposition immigration spokesman Dan Tehan stepped up his attack on the Albanese government’s Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs Minister for drawing on his ministerial status at a Tamil event on October 16 to raise election donations for a state Labor minister.

“Andrew Giles must provide the full details of his involvement in the fundraising event for minister Ros Spence, which has now been referred to IBAC for the potential misuse of ministerial and staff resources,” Mr Tehan said.

Dan Tehan

“What was the nature of the event and did it potentially provide a conflict of interest given his ministerial portfolio?”

Mr Tehan called on Mr Giles to withdraw as the guest speaker at a second Tamil community event this Sunday, at the Maharaja Palace in the Melbourne suburb of Northcote, to raise election cash for Victorian Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio’s campaign.

“If only he spent as much time on his portfolio as he did raising money for the Andrews government,” Mr Tehan said.

For a second straight day, Mr Giles failed to respond to questions from The Australian over whether it was appropriate for the federal Multicultural Affairs Minister to attend multicultural campaign events for Victorian Labor.

Victorian opposition government scrutiny spokeswoman Louise Staley wrote to IBAC Commissioner Robert Redlich on Tuesday, seeking an investigation into misuse of ministerial resources to promote the 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.”

The complaint was lodged after The Australian revealed that Ms Spence’s ministerial adviser organised the October 16 political fundraiser at the Gaylord Indian restaurant in Melbourne’s Docklands.

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”.

Premier Daniel Andrews has denied that Ms Spence’s adviser, Varnan Ganesh, has acted inappropriately in helping to organise the Tamil fundraiser.

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

Asked whether he could guarantee that Mr Ganesh had worked on the fundraiser only 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 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.”