BackVictoria’s integrity agencies, the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission and the Victorian Ombudsman will pool their expertise to investigate alleged serious misconduct and corruption involving Victorian public officers.
Commissioner for IBAC, The Hon Robert Redlich AM QC and the Victorian Ombudsman, Ms Deborah Glass OBE jointly announced today the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission and the Victorian Ombudsman will take a coordinated approach to the investigation into a range of matters concerning allegations of 'branch stacking', and other matters aired in recent media reports. The investigation scope will include other related complaints made or referred to IBAC, and a referral to the Victorian Ombudsman from the Parliament.
Commissioner Redlich said “the conduct of a thorough and efficient investigation is a shared priority for IBAC and the Ombudsman in response to significant public concern about the potential misuse of scarce public resources and the subversion of appropriate Parliamentary standards and processes”.
Ms Glass said: “What Victorians need from us is an independent investigation. Together with IBAC we will examine these allegations including whether, and if so to what extent, public funds were misused for party-political purposes. Commissioner Robert Redlich and I have agreed to share our expertise to get to the bottom of these issues for the Victorian public,” she said.
The Commissioner and Ombudsman said it is not possible to predict at the outset how long the investigation will take, as it will depend on what evidence emerges. At the end of the investigation, there will be a public report on the findings, the timing of which may be subject to legal and other requirements. As this is an active investigation, ongoing commentary will not be provided.
Source: Independent Broad-based Anit-corruption Commission and the Victorian Ombudsman
