Wednesday, 21 June 2023

Integrity and Oversight Committee

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

Bridget VALLENCE (Evelyn) (10:46): Yes. Go Aussies. As much as I would have loved there to be a committee report on the Australian cricket team’s win overnight, there is not, so today I will be speaking on the report The Independent Performance Audits of the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission and the Victorian Inspectorate – say that three times quickly. This inquiry was conducted by the Integrity and Oversight Committee. I refer in particular to the excellent minority report at page 373, which was authored by the member for Sandringham and the member for Rowville. This particular aspect of the report includes pertinent insights into this inquiry and highlights challenges and deficiencies of the legislative framework and that the auditor’s final report contained within the majority report is not independent.

This is extremely troubling. Recommendation 1 of the minority report noted that the Integrity and Oversight Committee, or the IOC:

… should review and rewrite sections of the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission Act 2011 … and the Victorian Inspectorate Act 2011 … with a particular focus on the framework of integrity agency performance audits.

Integrity matters. I think every Victorian has an expectation around integrity, and we are not seeing too much of it at the moment from the government benches. Integrity is so crucial, but you would not know that under the Andrews–Allan regime here in Victoria. The IOC at the time of this inquiry was dominated by Labor MPs and a Labor chair who took unprecedented and unbecoming steps to stifle transparency by doing things during the inquiry such as cutting microphones and cutting the public online feed of this inquiry when the former IBAC Commissioner Robert Redlich was providing evidence to the inquiry, evidence that the Labor chair did not want to hear, evidence that was exposing Labor, knowing how many corruption probes from the Premier through to the ministry that they are involved in, that they are embroiled in. Really the Victorian public deserves to know this. They deserve to be able to hear these inquiries and these hearings online, and for those feeds to be cut was astonishing and unprecedented and really simply wrong.

The reason I refer to this committee report and this inquiry of the IOC is that it was an inquiry that gave rise to an extraordinary and explosive letter that was subsequently sent by the IBAC Commissioner at the time, Justice the Honourable Robert Redlich, to the Victorian Parliament’s Presiding Officers about potential misconduct of Labor government MPs and, astonishingly, revenge attacks by Labor government MPs on IBAC – on the anti-corruption body.

While the Presiding Officers kept this letter secret from all members of this place and indeed the public, it was available for all to read by appearing in the Herald Sun, in the media. Now, when questioned about former IBAC Commissioner Robert Redlich’s letter and statements that came after this committee’s inquiry, Premier Daniel Andrews at a media conference dismissed the letter of the IBAC Commissioner, saying, ‘I’m not here to have a debate with people who used to have a job who’ve written a letter that apparently says a whole bunch of stuff. I haven’t seen the letter.’ Of course he had. The Premier’s statement reeks of arrogance and really says all that you need to know about his lack of respect for the Victorian people, the Victorian Parliament, scrutiny and integrity. The highly respected Robert Redlich smashed the Labor majority of this IOC – of the committee conducting the inquiry at the time. Being a Labor Party majority, he really exposed that majority of the committee for the leaks and for calling into question the independence of the audit process.

So with the time left, this really goes to the heart of corruption that we are seeing from the government. Why wouldn’t integrity be important to Victorians? It absolutely is. This government are involved and embroiled in way too many corruption probes, and they really need to come clean with the Victorian public on why that is.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I remind all members to please use the correct titles when referring to all members.