By CASEY NEILL
CONTROVERSY has overshadowed Premier Daniel Andrews’ visit to Cranbourne North to announce new schools.
He told families and media at Arbourlea Family and Children’s Centre on Wednesday 2 September that the neighbouring Casey Central East Primary School would open for the 2017 school year.
But he spent little time talking about the project, which will also see kids starting 2017 in classrooms at Cranbourne South West Primary School in Cranbourne West and Heather Grove Primary School in Clyde North.
He instead faced a barrage of questions about Herald Sun allegations the Labor Party rorted taxpayers to help fund election campaign staff.
The story claims that three Labor MPs and a senior party figure said that they and colleagues were told to divert part of their taxpayer-funded budgets intended for electorate officers, to instead pay for campaign organisers.
“The pooling of staff, these arrangements have existed for decades,” Mr Andrews said.
“There are rules and they’ve been followed – strictly.”
