Thursday, 13 November 2025

 John PESUTTO (Hawthorn) (10:29): I rise this morning to speak on the report into the performance of Victoria’s integrity agencies 2022–23 and in particular chapter 7 of the report, which refers to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission, which was an important reform, a historic reform, introduced by the Baillieu government back in 2012. In particular I want to focus on one aspect of the findings in that report, which relates to the performance data for IBAC and its timeliness.

The report notes in chapter 7 that the reports, which were previously contained in budget paper 3, in the performance data, but which have since been relocated to make it harder for Victorians to interrogate the performance data of agencies and departments by publishing that material in separate documents since 2024–25, nevertheless show that IBAC’s ability to deliver report findings and findings out of investigations in a more timely manner has been a challenge for the agency.

I want to make those remarks against the backdrop of a government which is nearing its 12th year and which has a more than blemished record on public sector integrity and investigations into corruption. We remember that this government began its life as the subject of what became the red shirts controversy, which was of course an Ombudsman investigation which was prompted by an opposition move in the other place to refer the matter to the Ombudsman – one of the first times that was ever done – but was followed by Operation Richmond, an investigation into allegedly corrupt conduct between the government and in particular its most senior member and the United Firefighters Union. It is only to be hoped that we see in our lifetime the publication of Operation Richmond. Operation Sandon involved allegations of corruption and corrupt payments, including payments which were made to a number of politicians, some of whom continue to serve in this Parliament – no reflection on them personally, but certainly the donor of those payments was the subject of that scathing report. And then of course there was Operation Daintree, which was a report into the corruption that occurred when this government basically handed out millions of dollars to the Health Workers Union without a competitive tender and to the Health Education Federation, which had no credentials to deliver occupational health and safety training to frontline workers – a complete debasement of public sector principles and governance this state has never seen before.

When we look at the performance data of IBAC which is referred to in this particular report and which has since not really improved in any material way, is it any wonder that IBAC, despite the best efforts of the good officers who work at IBAC, the many there who are serving the interests of Victorians, struggle to meet the highest expectations of that agency?

I have mentioned the particular bent of this government to cut corners, to issue taxpayer dollars without competitive tenders and to conceal from the Victorian people important matters that they should be entitled to see – that is the first thing. Secondly, this government engaged in one of the most appalling attacks on a distinguished Victorian, in fact a distinguished Australian, in 2023, when the then head of IBAC Robert Redlich, a former Supreme Court justice – a Court of Appeal justice, no less – was appallingly attacked by a Labor-dominated committee in a way which damaged IBAC in a lasting manner. But that was not all. We also saw this government cut funding to IBAC, so its ability to improve and adopt more ambitious targets for performance has been hamstrung by the funding constraints that this government has imposed on it.

We also saw in the last term of Parliament before this one this government introduce changes which limited the powers of IBAC to properly investigate matters, including by making it harder to hold public hearings. Just to put this in context, the then Victorian Premier, who was the subject of matters that were raised in various of the investigations that I have referred to, was not once exposed to a public hearing. I say that without wanting to comment on findings but to compare it with, say, New South Wales, where premiers throughout the years have appeared before findings. This report confirms the damage this government has done to IBAC.