Tuesday, 30 May 2023

Integrity and Oversight Committee

The Independent Performance Audits of the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission and the Victorian Inspectorate

Tim McCURDY (Ovens Valley) (11:26): I am delighted to rise and contribute on The Independent Performance Audits of the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission and the Victorian Inspectorate. Like my colleague the member for Evelyn I also want to focus on the minority report because as we know, with corruption at an all-time high, it is certainly more important than ever to ensure that performance audits and independent opportunities are accurate and represent the proper findings of what is going into these reports. Continued interference with the auditor and the appointment and the ability of the auditor to do their job should be a massive concern to all Victorians, and this minority report has certainly drawn those things out.

There is not a day that goes by that this government is not exposed to yet another scandal or embroiled in a mess, whether it was red shirts way back when, when the government admitted to rorting, or in the 58th Parliament when the Speaker and Deputy Speaker disgraced themselves with their second residence allowance that did not even exist. More recently we have seen contract procurement rorts into the Health Education Federation. They were awarded a contract with ‘favourable treatment’ or ‘privileged access’. So these examples remind us that the anti-corruption bodies must be allowed to be free and unimpeded to access and obtain information and expose the corruption and recommend sanctions and refer individuals to the police. The report shows, and I quote from the report:

In March 2022, the Chair of the Committee received a letter from Paul Allen, Partner at Callida …

who was the auditor.

Mr Allen referenced several issues such as the auditor’s inability to attend on-site visits, the departure of key staff who possessed requisite legal knowledge and their difficulties accessing operational information. Mr Allen concluded:

We believe the constraints raised by IBAC and the VI –

the Victorian Inspectorate –

make it highly improbable that we will be able to obtain sufficient appropriate evidence to enable a reasonable assurance audit conclusion to be provided, for all audit criteria.

This is a polite way of saying they were blocked from doing their job. We know what happens with people who do petty crime, criminals who start shoplifting early. If it goes unchecked, it gets worse and worse and worse. As I say, we first saw the red shirts and the money got handed back, so there was that admission there. Then there was the hotel quarantine, where they did not recall what took place. Now this week we see the Premier-in-waiting, the Deputy Premier, is now overseeing these ghost shifts that never actually existed. Workers are getting paid two or three shifts a day. Let us hope that we get to the bottom of this corruption and this scandal; that is why we have IBAC, that is why we have these bodies to try make sure that we can get to the bottom of what actually goes on.

This minority report demonstrates conclusively that the more corruption that is allowed to go on, the more corruption is accepted. In the words of the Premier, ‘The standard you walk past is the standard you accept.’ Clearly this report demonstrates that the whole Andrews government is happy to walk past this behaviour. Also in the report:

On Thursday 6 October 2022, the Chair of the Subcommittee issued an email to the auditor instructing them to act in a particular way. Dustin Halse MP wrote to the auditor expressing the “Committee’s clear directions to Callida”.

This is quite astonishing further interference that is going on in directing the auditor. Also in the conclusion it says:

It is important to reiterate that the purpose of writing this Minority Report is to contextualise the process of the performance audit.

This goes to the heart of the scandals that we have seen and other scandals that will be seen going forward. I certainly see the wheels are starting to get shaky on that big red bus.

Emma Kealy: Hit a pothole.

Tim McCURDY: Yes, I think it might have hit a pothole, member for Lowan, and it might need a realignment. But when we look at the auditors and these reports, Victoria certainly does deserve better.