Victorian Liberals’ Matthew Guy knew of sex claims against adviser

VICTORIAN Liberals Matthew Guy knew for 18 months that his ex-planning adviser had been accused of grooming a schoolgirl.

THE Victorian Liberals’ leader-in-waiting Matthew Guy has ­admitted he knew for 18 months that his former planning adviser had in the past been accused of grooming a teenage schoolgirl and touching her inappropriately.

Facing a political storm over his former ministerial adviser Marc Boxer, Mr Guy told The Australian yesterday that he should have acted to deal with the adviser when his then chief-of-staff last year detailed the claims.

Mr Boxer was forced to quit on Monday after The Australian revealed he had been struck off as a teacher a decade ago after trying to woo a 15-year-old girl when he was a teacher. Mr Boxer had inundated the girl with emails of a sexual nature and evidence was submitted to a teaching inquiry that he had put his hands down her gym pants.

In one email, Mr Boxer had asked the schoolgirl: “How quickly do you want me to remove all articles of clothing?’’

Mr Guy said that his chief-of-staff had received a Victorian Institute of Teaching account of Mr Boxer’s indiscretions about 18 months ago, which had triggered an internal investigation. It was decided that because no police charges had been laid and because Mr Boxer’s work record was clean after 2004 that he should not be moved. But child abuse campaigner Hetty Johnston, of the organisation Bravehearts, said Mr Guy had failed to take a leadership role on the matter.

“He’s made a grave error of judgment, for sure,” she said. “If that’s really the mindset, then that’s a concern.”

While Mr Boxer, now aged in his 40s, has now resigned from Mr Guy’s political office, he has been able to return to the Victorian Department of Planning. Mr Guy said he had no influence over staffing matters in the department.

Mr Guy said that Mr Boxer had “worked well’’ in his office and that the department had initially recommended him as a departmental liaison officer, a role Mr Boxer had held under Labor.

While he now regretted the ­decision, Mr Guy said it was felt 18 months ago that Mr Boxer had paid for his sexual indiscretions in 2004 by being banned from working as a teacher in Victoria.

“It was felt that given the matter was public, it was felt we weren’t hiding anything,’’ he said. “And the matter had been dealt with.’’

Had there been a police prosecution it might have been a different outcome, he said.

Labor legal affairs spokesman Martin Pakula accused Mr Guy of hypocrisy, having been the government’s effective attack dog in the run-up to the November 29 election. “If Mr Guy knew of Mr Boxer’s history 18 months ago and chose to employ him anyway, then you have to ask what has changed today?’’ he said. “Perhaps Mr Guy is conceding that he had a serious lapse of judgment.’’

The controversy over Mr Guy’s handling of the issue appears to be linked at least in part to anger over Ted Baillieu’s political demise. Mr Baillieu was forced out of the premiership in March last year, about the time Mr Boxer’s record was first leaked. It is understood there have been other attempts to undermine Mr Guy, who was linked with a group of MPs worried that Mr Baillieu’s performance was killing the government.