Victorian corruption watchdog finds ‘concerning’ conduct by Andrews government but no evidence premier was blackmailed in tabled report

Benita Kolovos

Victoria’s anti-corruption watchdog has tabled a long-awaited report into the former Daniel Andrews government’s dealings with the United Firefighters Union and its secretary Peter Marshall.

The Operation Richmond report did not find that any individuals engaged in corrupt conduct, but it found that senior members of the Andrews government engaged in “serious and concerning” conduct in their dealings with Marshall when negoitiating pay deals for the Country Fire Authority and Metropolitan Fire Brigade, and their later amalgamation into Fire Services Victoria.

This included “actions contrary to policy, procedure and codes of conduct, deliberate attempts to conceal and mislead, and the misuse of information.”

The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission found the government made an “undisclosed deal” with Marshall, “to the exclusion of other key stakeholders,” which allowed him to “exert extraordinary influence over the negotiations” for both the CFA and MFB enterprise bargaining agreements.

IBAC also found that Marshall was granted “privileged access” to responsible ministers.

The final release of the findings comes after years of legal attempts by the UFU to keep the report secret, including a high court challenge. The investigation first began in 2018 following a tip-off that Marshall “blackmailed or otherwise compromised” Andrews “to change his position on the CFA EBA”. Ibac found no evidence of blackmail and did not substantiate the allegation, which both Andrews and Marshall denied.