Save articles for later

Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.

Victorian Labor is bracing for tough criticism over integrity issues, with former anti-corruption chief Robert Redlich scheduled to speak publicly on Monday for the first time since he left the job in December.

Redlich, AM, KC, will be the first witness before the Integrity and Oversight Committee’s public performance review of integrity agencies, including the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Committee, the Victorian Ombudsman and the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner.

Former IBAC commissioner Robert Redlich.

It is unusual for a committee such as this to call on a former head of an agency. The acting IBAC commissioner, Stephen Farrow, will also appear before the committee.

Senior MPs, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorised to speak publicly, said that Labor MPs on the integrity committee opposed inviting Redlich to appear but lost the vote. The government no longer controls the committee after a controversial deal in March with the Greens and Legalise Cannabis Party.

Towards the end of his five-year term as IBAC commissioner, Redlich was outspoken in his critique of the government and what he described as “soft” or “grey” corruption and “fundamental institutional failings”.

Redlich repeatedly called for reform, including for funding of IBAC to be removed from the discretion of the government and given to the state parliament, and for the widening of the watchdog’s powers.

In March, it was revealed he wrote to the parliament in his final days as commissioner alleging that Labor MPs had asked an independent auditor to “dig up dirt” on IBAC and that this may have been revenge for ongoing investigations into the government.

Redlich sent the letter to the lower house speaker and upper house president, apparently anticipating it would be distributed to all MPs – but it wasn’t.

When the letter surfaced, the opposition proposed to move a motion in parliament for a special inquiry into the claims detailed in Redlich’s letter.

But the government averted the potentially damaging inquiry by doing a deal with the Greens and Legalise Cannabis Party to forfeit control of the integrity committee and allow it to be chaired by a non-government MP, a key recommendation in the Redlich letter. The committee is now chaired by Greens MP Tim Read, who is the party’s integrity spokesman.

While the opposition was left without sufficient numbers to force the inquiry it sought, Redlich’s appearance at the integrity committee’s review on Monday gives non-government MPs the opportunity to revisit the letter row.

Greens MP and integrity committee chair, Tim Read Credit: Eddie Jim

Redlich refused to comment publicly throughout the saga and would not comment for this story. But senior MPs, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorised to speak publicly, said non-Labor MPs plan to ask him about the letter and the circumstances behind it.

One Labor MP, also speaking anonymously, said Redlich’s appearance was expected to be his “moment in the sun” with the protection of parliamentary privilege.

Labor also anticipates tense moments when Ombudsman Deborah Glass appears before the committee this month.

Glass has been critical of the government and is well advanced in an inquiry into politicisation of the public service. The probe was called for by the parliament’s upper house in February last year after an Age investigation found more than 30 senior public servants were formerly advisers to Premier Daniel Andrews or his ministers.

Daniel Andrews and Deborah Glass.Credit: Paul Jeffers

Glass has been a constant thorn in the government’s side, including when she released a report in 2020 that said the hard lockdown of public housing tenants in North Melbourne in July that year violated their human rights.

MPs also expect Glass to raise concerns about Inspector Eamonn Moran, head of the Victorian Inspectorate, the little-known agency that scrutinises other integrity bodies, including the Ombudsman.

A letter from Glass to Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes in October, obtained by The Age, revealed that, despite his authority over her office, Glass was refusing to deal with Moran, alleging he had abused his powers in multiple investigations of her office. He has since been re-appointed to the job for another two years.

Glass declined to comment ahead of her appearance before the committee.

Read, the integrity committee’s chair, also declined to comment.

Our Breaking News Alert will notify you of significant breaking news when it happens. Get it here.

Most Viewed in National

From our partners

Source: Read Full Article