Daniel Andrews friendless as tape scandal deepens

VICTORIAN Labor leader Daniel Andrews’s credibility is evaporating over the tape recording scandal, resulting in a caucus split.

VICTORIAN Labor leader Daniel Andrews’s credibility is evaporating over the party’s tape recording scandal, resulting in a growing split between him and his caucus over his handling of the crisis.

Mr Andrews is being isolated in the caucus over his failure to find a scalp for the distribution of the secret recording of former premier Ted Baillieu, which has sparked a police investigation into the highest levels of the ALP and his office.

Multiple sources have told The Australian that the strategy of claiming ignorance about who in the Labor hierarchy leaked the taped interview has weakened his leadership and imperilled his chances of retaining the position if the ALP loses the November election.

The scandal broke when Fairfax Media reporter Farrah Tomazin lost a tape recorder containing unauthorised interviews at the May state ALP conference.

The dictaphone was later obtained by party assistant secretary Kosmos Samaras.

He destroyed the device after hearing a private conversation he had with the reporter but kept a recording of Mr Baillieu attacking several colleagues. After receiving legal advice, he demanded the Baillieu recording not be released.

Mr Andrews’s troubles have deepened as powerbrokers across the factions have swung in behind the ALP’s state headquarters, backing the version of events articulated by Mr Samaras and party secretary Noah Carroll.

This means that speculation over who from Labor leaked the recording is focused heavily on Mr Andrews’s personal office amid anger that no one has been held to account for directly or indirectly leaking the recording to the Liberal Party.

Mr Andrews does not have the full backing of his Socialist Left faction, instead relying on several frontbenchers and MPs in his sub-grouping which has attempted to rally support behind Mr Andrews.

The strategy has included imposing a gag — which has failed — on MPs discussing the scandal with the media, a decision that has further angered MPs as they try to prepare for the November 29 election.

“It’s just a hopeless strategy,’’ a senior MP said of Mr Andrews’s denial of any knowledge of who leaked the recording after it was intercepted by Mr Samaras.

Another MP said: “It’s the leader’s mess. And his office.’’

A third MP said that the caucus had been “completely rattled’’ by the fallout from the scandal but it was hoped that the problem would disappear if the police lost interest in the matter.

Mr Andrews’s office yesterday refused to say whether police had interviewed him or his staff. Caucus will meet again next week, having been told that the strategy was to focus on local policy until the storm passed over the recording.