The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) and the Victorian Ombudsman are calling for legislative change to deter the misuse of public funds.
IBAC Commissioner, Robert Redlich said the call followed evidence heard at the recent IBAC Operation Watts public hearings, which suggested that in Victoria, some Members of Parliament may be misusing public resources by directing electorate officers and ministerial staff to engage in work which furthered their political objectives.
Commissioner Redlich said Operation Watts was an ongoing, coordinated investigation between IBAC and the Ombudsman looking into a range of matters, including allegations of corrupt conduct.
Ombudsman Deborah Glass said the evidence indicated that despite a package of reforms enacted by Parliament in 2019 in response to her 2018 Red Shirts report, existing laws and rules around the legitimate use of public resources were not robust enough to prevent their misuse.
“Members of Parliament gave evidence of their belief that when legislative changes were being implemented, Parliament deliberately omitted reference to the wider definition of ‘party specific’ work to permit the use of electorate officers to engage in some party-political activities during work hours,” Ms Glass said.
Commissioner Redlich said much of the evidence heard at the public hearings was about how taxpayer funds were directed to ministerial and electorate office staff to perform party‐political duties during work hours, rather than the job they were hired to do in performing ministerial or electorate work.
“IBAC and the Victorian Ombudsman are also seeking clarity from Members of Parliament about the appointment process of staff hired for electoral or ministerial work and whether reducing the staffing allocation and electorate office budget should be considered,” he said.
“This engagement with party leaders will form one input into the recommendations that will be included in the Operation Watts public report to be released next year.
“The recommendations in the final report will seek to strengthen the controls to protect public funds from being misused and go towards restoring public confidence.”
Commissioner Redlich said reforms were also aimed at strengthening the frameworks for Parliamentary accountability, particularly in relation to breaches of the Members of Parliament Code of Conduct.
