Thursday, 20 June 2024

Operation Daintree

Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (10:27): Operation Daintree was an investigation by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission highlighting how improper influence compromised the procurement process for a $1.2 million contract awarded to a union-established training group and compromised the management of the contract. It found a competitive procurement process had not been followed. The government’s response today just highlights the lengths that they will go to to protect their own failings and a lack of transparency to Victorians. There is no commitment to require staff to better cooperate with IBAC investigations, and the government has rejected a recommendation to compel ministerial staff to appear before the commission. This is Labor running a protection racket for their ministerial staff. Look at what happened through the hotel quarantine debacle and the way the former Premier provided protection for those ministerial staff and others through that extraordinary period of this state’s history.

It is incredible what this government will do. The Allan Labor government is just following on from the previous government. The government has rejected consulting with IBAC on legislative changes, the government has not guaranteed witnesses will be provided with stronger protections and there is no clear commitment to transparency on headcount costs associated with ministerial staff. I say again: this government is in no way wanting transparency or wanting Victorians to understand the true depths of the cover-ups that they will go to. Operation Daintree exposed the extent of the former Premier’s involvement and that of the Department of Health.