By Cam Lucadou-Wells
Premier Daniel Andrews has been explosively accused of prior knowledge of the ALP’s $388,000 ‘red shirts’ rort at an IBAC inquiry.
South Eastern Metropolitan MP Adem Somyurek, in evidence on 8 November, said he expressed misgivings to then-Opposition Leader Mr Andrews prior to signing up to the “extraordinary”, “gold-standard rort”.
The “centralised” scheme was designed by upper house MP and former state treasurer John Lenders to use taxpayer-funded electorate officers to campaign for Labor prior to the 2014 state election.
“I went to the Premier (Mr Andrews). I said, ’Do you know what John’s doing?’,” Mr Somyurek said.
“He said, ’Yes.’
“Words to the effect, ’Well, you’re either going to – you know, if you want to win an election or not,’ basically.”
Mr Somyurek nonetheless signed up to the scheme, in which MPs signed pre-filled time sheets to allow their electorate officers to “sit in a campaign office somewhere and campaign all day”.
Mr Andrews has consistently denied knowing about the rort.
A Victoria Police investigation has cleared more than a dozen Labor MPs of wrongdoing.
At the IBAC Operation Watts hearing, Mr Somyurek said an Ombudsman report into the scandal didn’t “smack it down sufficiently”.
Ombudsman Deborah Glass labelled the rorting of MP’s casual office staff as an “artifice” but could have used “stronger language” such as “corruption”, Mr Somyurek said.
“She could have referred it for charges. She didn’t.
“The Ombudsman had the gold standard rort and didn’t actually smack it down sufficiently, we all thought, ’Wow, it is carte blanche.”
Mr Somyurek was subject to “adverse comment” in the March 2018 report.
Within a month of the report, he gave directions to his electorate office staff to do “factional work”, he admitted at the inquiry.
During their working time, they harvested and filled in members’ ALP national conference ballot papers to benefit Mr Somyurek’s Moderate Labor faction.
Text messages showed that Mr Somyurek was directing this “party-political” work.
“I was sticking to the principles of how I’ve always done things, right?” Mr Somyurek told the inquiry.
“That, you know, it’s acceptable to do some party-political stuff as long as it wasn’t silly.
“It was proportionate, not disproportionate like Red Shirts was.”
Mr Somyurek said all state political parties then deliberately legislated in 2019 to continue “party-political activity” by MP’s electorate officers.
“There was a unity ticket in parliament – MPs protecting themselves.”
“What a terrible indictment, Mr Somyurek,” IBAC Commissioner Robert Redlich said.
“Is not the public entitled to look to parliament as the first place to ensure that not only members of parliament but their staff confine their activities to compliance with and discharging their public duties?”
Mr Somyurek said it was “entirely consistent with legislation”.
“However, Commissioner, I do understand your point.
“There’s got to be some limit to it, otherwise … you can employ people to wash your car all day.”
