Tuesday, 2 June 2026

 Evan MULHOLLAND (Northern Metropolitan) (13:59): (1325) My question is to the Special Minister of State. The Premier was told back in 2024 that IBAC did not have the powers it needed to investigate CFMEU and bikie corruption on Big Build sites but chose to hide that advice. Since then corruption on Victorian government Big Build sites has been estimated to cost Victorian taxpayers more than $15 billion. Why is your government continuing to run a protection racket for corruption by delaying the new IBAC follow-the-money powers until at least 2028?

 Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Government Services, Special Minister of State, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Multicultural and Multifaith Victoria) (14:00): Thank you for your question, Mr Mulholland, and at the outset I want to reject a number of the assertions that are contained in that question. They are quite inaccurate and quite inappropriate. But dealing with the substance of these issues, I want to firstly thank the Integrity and Oversight Committee for the work that they did in the very detailed and complex inquiry that they held about the appropriate scope of IBAC’s powers. As we announced yesterday, the Premier and I have indicated that we will be tabling the government response to that report in Parliament today and that of the 31 recommendations that were contained in that report, 29 of which were directed to government, the government will be accepting in principle and giving in-principle support to the vast majority of those recommendations.

Now, there is no question that the inconvenient truth for those opposite is that these are not simple reforms. They are very complex in the sense that there is an integrated integrity system in Victoria, so these reforms do require careful consideration and further work to get the legislative reforms right. As we have indicated in the response to the report and in recognition of the need to do that work carefully, we will be setting up an expert reference group. On that reference group will be the heads of each of the key integrity agencies to work through those complex changes with us. It will be chaired by the Secretary of the Department of Justice and Community Safety. That expert reference group will report back to me by May next year, and we will bring legislation to the Parliament in 2027.

What is clear in the government response – if anyone takes the time to actually read that response in full, anyone will be able to see that each of the recommendations have interdependencies. It is complex reform that is required, and changes to one integrity agency’s remit can impact on other integrity agencies’ responsibilities and scope as well as of course the resources that will be required for any expanded remit when it comes to IBAC’s powers. We have said that we will give IBAC the power to follow the money and we will ask the expert group to look at the retrospective nature of that reform. We are absolutely serious about a system – (Time expired)

 Evan MULHOLLAND (Northern Metropolitan) (14:03): Minister, even the government’s own MPs are starting to wake up to the corruption happening on your watch, with one anonymously quoted in the AFR this morning as saying:

This is a deflection of historic proportions … Anything short of a royal commission is not good enough. Jacinta, Daniel … and Tim Pallas handed over a monopoly to thugs disguised as unionism, who then used that monopoly cartel power at the expense of taxpayers.

Isn’t it a fact that a royal commission is now the only way to resolve Victoria’s biggest ever corruption scandal?

 Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Government Services, Special Minister of State, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Multicultural and Multifaith Victoria) (14:04): I thank Mr Mulholland for that supplementary question, and if there are allegations of criminality on any Victorian worksite, they should be made directly to the authorities. It is also important to note that there are other agencies involved in that work right now. Victoria Police are charged with responsibilities when it comes to criminal activity and the investigation of that activity. The Labour Hire Authority have cancelled 150-plus licences on the Big Build. There are other agencies that are already doing this work, and the government accepts that in expanding IBAC’s powers we will be able to ensure that follow-the-dollar powers are part of IBAC’s remit and that there will be the ability for that to be retrospectively applied. The government is serious about getting this work done, but we are serious about doing it in a proper and considered fashion.

Members interjecting.

The PRESIDENT: When someone asks a question, can their colleagues not shout down the minister while she is answering. I would imagine the person asking the question might like to hear the answer, and also the chamber.