Victorian Labor minister Lisa Neville feels heat of IBAC watchdog

Focus shifts to Lisa Neville’s key role in events that sparked an anti-corruption inquiry into the Andrews government’s dealings with the firefighters union.

Premier Daniel Andrews with Victorian Police Minister Lisa Neville. Picture: Nicki Connolly

Senior Labor minister Lisa Neville has emerged as another figure under the gaze of the secret anti-corruption investigation probing dealings between the Andrews government and the United Firefighters Union.

Multiple sources have identified Ms Neville – who as emergency services minister from 2018-2021 managed the government’s relations with the UFU and its state secretary, Peter Marshall – as being of “fundamental” importance to the issues being probed by IBAC.

“Look beyond Daniel Andrews and look at people like Lisa Neville, she was very pivotal in much of what happened,” one source told The Australian.

The Australian has been told a high volume of phone calls between the veteran Labor MP and UFU officials, including Mr Marshall, has been noted.

One figure familiar with the government’s controversial move to merge the CFA and MFB into Fire Services Victoria said Ms Neville displayed a “drive to implement reform”.

The figure said Ms Neville was one of the prime drivers pushing a highly contentious “secondment agreement” in the reform package that effectively forced CFA operational leaders to sign away their authority and autonomy to the UFU. “It was the UFU’s way or the highway,” one source said.

IBAC has declined to respond to specific questions from The Australian about Ms Neville, simply stating: “As a matter of practice, IBAC does not comment on whether it has a complaint or investigation before it.”

Ms Neville’s spokeswoman said it would be inappropriate to comment.

“It is not appropriate to comment on any IBAC matter and any questions about IBAC activities should be directed to the agency,” she said. Mr Marshall did not respond to The Australian’s calls or texts on Thursday.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews on Thursday said it was “not fair” for ministers and political staff to have to automatically stand down if they were involved in an investigation by the Independent Broadbased anti-Corruption Commission.

The Neville developments come as Mr Andrews was forced to again fend off calls for his resignation over the growing crisis surrounding the two-year IBAC investigation into the government and fire union.

Despite saying in 2019 that he and his staff were not under investigation by IBAC, Mr Andrews repeatedly refused to say if he was currently involved in the watchdog’s probe. “I’ve answered you directly, factually, correctly (and) I’m not adding to that,” he said.

“The point yesterday was I was asked a question, just because you for instance were assisting IBAC or were involved in some way, that without any question or as a binary thing, you would have to step down,” he said.

“No, I don’t believe that’s accurate, I don’t believe that’s fair and that won’t be happening.”

Speaking hypothetically on Thursday, Mr Andrews said he wouldn’t necessarily know if any of his ministers or staff were under or assisting an IBAC investigation.

Opposition Leader Matthew Guy questioned why Mr Andrews confirmed he wasn’t under investigation in 2019 but not now. “This is quizzical because he answered that question in 2019,” said Mr Guy. “He said in 2019 he wasn’t and no members of his staff were – what’s changed in two years?”

During question time, Mr Andrews declined to answer opposition question concerning his IBAC involvement, saying he had acted appropriately at all times as he referred to his answers on Wednesday.

In a separate scandal for the Andrews government, IBAC has announced it will hold public hearings on Monday into claims of serious corruption involving misuse of taxpayer-funded staff in the offices of Labor MPs and ministers for political purposes.