‘If that’s the sort of investigation they do then God help us all’: Tom Donato

Senior Labor MP Lily D’Ambrosio has refused to reveal if she was questioned during a branch stacking probe into the renewal of two dead men’s memberships.

The allegations sparked calls for Lily D'Ambrosio’s sacking.

A senior government MP has refused to confirm whether she was interviewed as part of an internal probe into the renewal of two dead men’s memberships within Labor’s Lalor South branch.

Energy MP Lily D’Ambrosio, who appeared beside her federal counterpart Chris Bowen on Wednesday to announce a new clean energy investment scheme, was pressed about the short-lived probe by her former branch.

Former deputy premier and Inaugural Party Monitor John Thwaites on Friday ruled that the internal review into the renewal of memberships within the branch was unable to find who was responsible for the “egregious act”.

But Ms D’Ambrosio on Wednesday wouldn’t say whether she was questioned as part of the probe.

Environment MP Lily D’Ambrosio wouldn’t be drawn on the branch stacking probe. Picture: David Crosling

“I’m not going to go into how the party undertakes reviews or investigation,” she said.

“They’ve done that. I’ve welcomed that.”

“I’ve also welcomed the Jenny Macklin and Steve Bracks, the branch review of the Labor Party that was undertaken two or three years ago, and there’s been massive reforms to the way that the Victorian branch, as a whole, now functions and that is for the better.”

The minister said it was “absolutely” right for Labor to apologise to the dead men’s families but stopped short of offering her own apology.

“What happened to those families should never have happened and so the party has done the right thing and issued an apology,” Ms D’Ambrosio said.

“The Labor Party has done the investigation they’ve done the review. The conclusions have been made. Apologies have been issued. I’m one member of the Labor Party. Many other thousands are.”

Ms D’Ambrosio wouldn’t say whether she agreed the practice was “egregious”.

“I’m not here to make a comment on every word that John Thwaites made in his report,” he said.

Ms D’Ambrosio is a factional ally of Premier Daniel Andrews. Picture: David Crosling

The Herald Sun previously reported Victorian Labor closed its short-lived internal branch-stacking probe into revelations that it kept dead people enrolled as party members.

Former deputy premier and Inaugural Party Monitor John Thwaites late on Friday, August 25, ruled that an internal review into the renewal of memberships within the Lalor South branch was unable to find who was responsible for the “egregious act”. 

The party’s conduct was first revealed just 10 days ago.

Earlier this month, Ms D’Ambrosio, who is a factional ally of Premier Daniel Andrews, denied any knowledge of alleged branch stacking operations within her northern suburbs seat of Mill Park.

It followed revelations that two deceased men, Celestino Nigro and Antonio Donato, both had their memberships renewed in the Lalor South branch.

The sons of one of the dead men who had his signature forged to renew a membership have vowed to take the matter to Victoria Police.

Tom and Enzo Donato will meet this weekend to discuss their next weeks after they were “disgusted” at Victorian Labor’s investigation into the matter.

Tom Donato’s late father Antonio’s signature was forged on ALP membership forms. Picture: Valeriu Campan

“I don’t really want to talk to anyone in the Labor Party. We gave them every opportunity to investigate it but they dismissed it,” Tom Donato said.

“They’ve not only dismissed us, but they’ve dismissed my father.

“The more it goes on, the worse I feel about it. The way it was brushed off like it didn’t matter. He was my father and of course he mattered. It’s poor form. It’s disgusting.

“I would like to know if somebody had done that to Daniel Andrews’ father or Lily D’Ambrosio’s father. How would they feel? It just makes your stomach turn.

“I’ve got no more words for it.”

Mr Donato said he was expecting more from the internal probe.

“If that’s the sort of investigation they do then god help us all,” he added.

Late on Friday, Victorian Labor acting state secretary Cameron Petrie issued an apology to the Nigro and Donato families, but said an internal investigation was unable to find the person or people responsible.

“As Acting State Secretary, and on behalf of Victorian Labor, I sincerely apologise to the families affected for the distress and hurt caused by the renewal of the memberships of their deceased loved ones,” he said.

A “root and branch” audit into party memberships, conducted by former Premier Steve Bracks and former federal deputy leader Jenny Macklin, resulted in 90 per cent of members leaving the Lalor South branch.

Just a week after starting an internal probe John Thwaite announced the review failed to find those responsible. Picture: Sarah Matray

Mr Thwaites on Friday wrote to Mr Petrie to advise that he had finished his review into the concerns raised about operations within the former Lalor South Branch.

He said he took a number of steps to find who was responsible for the conduct by obtaining correspondence and speaking with members he considered to “may have been able to shed light on what appears to have occurred in the Lalor South Branch in 2018 and 2019”.

“There is insufficient evidence to conclude that any particular person was responsible for renewing members posthumously or otherwise breaching The Branch Rules,” he said.

“While I have been unable to determine who was responsible, it is clear that such conduct was possible due to inadequate membership processes that left the Victorian Branch vulnerable before the changes to The Branch Rules that were instigated by the Bracks Macklin Administration.

“It is clear that the posthumous renewal of memberships was an egregious act and has caused upset to the families of the deceased. I am troubled that this occurred.”

Mr Thwaites said he was confident that in light of the root-and-branch audit of the Victorian Labor Party’s membership and new rules, “such conduct could not be repeated now”.

As revealed by the Herald Sun, allies of Ms D’Ambrosio believed she was the victim of an ALP war over the future control of the party, after the damaging leak against her was made public.

The allegations sparked calls for Ms D’Ambrosio’s sacking and prompted a referral to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission by the state opposition.

But Ms D’Ambrosio, who has maintained no knowledge or wrongdoing, said questions about the payment of membership fees is a matter for the Labor Party.

Originally published as ‘If that’s the sort of investigation they do then God help us all’: Tom Donato