Victorian Coalition urges Daniel Andrews to front police for questioning over ‘red shirt rorts’

The Victorian Coalition has urged Daniel Andrews to front Victoria Police for questioning over the misuse of MP staff allowances.

Premier Daniel Andrews. Picture: Alison Wynd

The Victorian Coalition has urged Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to front Victoria Police for questioning over the misuse of MP staff allowances during the November 2014 election, after revelations police have approached government MPs and ministers for questioning.

Mr Andrews declined to comment on the reports that fraud squad investigators had approached Labor MPs and ministers for questioning over their role in the so-called ‘Red Shirt Rorts’ in 2014 which used staff allowances to pay campaigners’ salaries.

A livid Coalition said Mr Andrews should hand himself in for questioning, arguing that Victorians voting in the November poll deserve to know how much the Premier knew about the dodgy scheme.

“Daniel Andrews is making a lot of big promises in this election campaign so it’s important Victorians know if they can trust him before they cast their vote,” Opposition spokesman for legal affairs John Pesutto said.

“The Premier declined to be interviewed by the Ombudsman and instead threw John Lenders under the bus. He then avoided scrutiny by refusing to appear at a Parliamentary inquiry into Labor’s rorting of $388,000 of taxpayers’ money.

“It’s now time for Daniel Andrews to go in for police questioning and provide a statement under oath about what he knew and when he knew it.”

The Andrews government has been dogged for more than three years by the scandal, which has been dubbed the ‘Red Shirt Rorts’ for the distinctive red T-shirts its campaigners wore during the 2014 election campaign.

Under the rort, some campaigners’ salaries were partially paid out of MP staff allowances in a practice which was found to break parliamentary rules, which stipulate that parliamentary funds can’t be used for party political purposes.

At a public housing announcement in Collingwood Mr Andrews refused to comment on how many ministers and MPs had been contacted, nor whether members of his government would co-operate with the police investigation:

“As this is an ongoing matter I’m unable to provide any commentary at all,” Mr Andrews said.

A spokesman for Victoria Police was similarly tight lipped when approached by The Australian for information. “The investigation is ongoing and its inappropriate to comment,” the spokesman said.

Scaling up of the police investigation activities comes at a critical time for the Andrews government and the Victorian Coalition, which are both ramping up election campaigns ahead of the November 24 state election.

News of the latest round of police questioning comes just two months after Victoria Police fraud and extortion squad investigators conducted dawn raids on more than a dozen current and former Labor members and staffers who worked as campaigners during the 2014 election.

The police investigation into the rort is understood to be focusing on timesheets used in the scheme and whether MPs and ministers knowingly filled them out incorrectly.

Amid the investigation and the upcoming state election, Victorian Labor has attempted to spruik its infrastructure pipeline as well as big handouts to inner city areas in the run up to the election.

But internal party issues including the police investigation as well as separate legal action lodged by a United Firefighters Union member threaten to divert attention.

Meanwhile, the Coalition is ramping up a negative campaign taking direct aim at integrity issues within the government, particularly the Red Shirts debacle as well as the government’s ongoing stoush with the United Firefighters Union.