The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) and the Victorian Ombudsman (VO) have made a series of recommendations to address corruption risks uncovered in a recent joint investigation.
Tabling their Operation Watts report, IBAC Commissioner Robert Redlich and Ombudsman Deborah Glass said their investigation into allegations of serious corrupt conduct involving Victorian public officers, including Members of Parliament (MPs) examined allegations of misuse of electorate offices, ministerial office staff and resources for branch stacking and other representative party-related activities.
They said their Report illustrated a “catalogue of unethical and inappropriate behaviour ranging from the hiring of unqualified people into publicly funded roles, using those roles to support factional work, nepotism, forging signatures, bullying and attempts to interfere with the government grants process.”
“We have carefully considered whether the identified misconduct constituted criminal offending that should be referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions,” Mr Redlich and Ms Glass said.
“Although we consider the conduct to be egregious, the difficulties in proof are such that we cannot recommend prosecution.”
Mr Redlich said the misconduct by MPs in their appointment of staff to pursue factional agendas was deeply concerning.
“Through the Operation Watts public hearings, we saw behaviours and actions on display that are clearly not in alignment with what the community rightfully expects of our decision-makers,” Mr Redlich said.
“We concluded that two Members of Parliament breached one or more elements of the Ministerial Code of Conduct and the MPs’ Code of Conduct,” he said.
“While we saw evidence of disturbing practices engaged in by staff, most of whom knew what they were doing was wrong, primary responsibility rests with the MPs for whom they worked and their factional leaders.”
Mr Redlich said the “unethical culture that was such a feature of this investigation, whether as an explanation or excuse for bad conduct, lies at its heart.”
Ms Glass said the current legislative framework provided few, if any, consequences for the abuse of public resources and allowed the conduct that the investigation revealed to continue unchecked.
“The case for meaningful reform is now both compelling and urgent,” Ms Glass said.
“The majority of Members of Parliament genuinely seek to advance the public interest,” she said.
“We strongly encourage them to demonstrate this by supporting these reforms.”
A key recommendation arising from the Report is the establishment of a Parliamentary Ethics Committee and a Parliamentary Integrity Commissioner.
Mr Redlich and Ms Glass’s 21 recommendations also cover reforms for the Department of Parliamentary Services and electorate officers’ employment arrangements, improving accountability arrangements for MPs and Ministers, and improving grant management frameworks for State and local government funders of community organisations.
Responding to the Report, State Premier Daniel Andrews promised sweeping integrity reforms as part of a significant overhaul of parliamentary oversight and committed to implementing all of the Report’s recommendations.
The IBAC and Ombudsman’s 234-page Report can be accessed at this PS News link.
