Another corruption inquiry in Victoria? It must be a Wednesday.
With at least four Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission inquiries into the Dear Leader of Dandrewstan, you’d think even Victorians would begin to wake up and smell the poo. But no, not worst Covid outcomes than all other Australian states combined, not the world’s longest lockdowns, not rubber bullets and teargas at the Shrine of Remembrance, not even the humiliation of dumping the Commonwealth Games at the last minute, have been enough to short-circuit the robotic adulation of the marching morons of Melbourne.
So, you can bet your last taxpayer dollar (if Dan and his mate Albo haven’t already spent it) that Dictator Dan will skate on even the latest scandal.
An anti-corruption investigation that examined Premier Daniel Andrews in secret, probed links between a developer and Labor ministers and has been blamed for the suicide of a former mayor will be released within days.
Only in Victoria could you have an anti-corruption investigation that’s still kept secret from public scrutiny.
Victoria’s Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission has been given the greenlight to table the Operation Sandon report after the Victorian Court of Appeal rejected a last-ditch legal bid to block its release.
The 300-page report, expected to be released on Thursday, is the result of a five-year probe into allegedly corrupt land deals between millionaire property developer John Woodman and Casey councillors.
What does this have to do with Andrews?
During his cross-examination, according to a draft report, Mr Andrews was questioned about his association with Mr Woodman and whether he had been given his mobile phone number.
“Initially Mr Andrews accepted (that a Labor-aligned lobbyist) may have provided him with Mr Woodman’s phone number but when it was suggested this may have indicated he wished to apologise to Mr Woodman, he said it was highly unlikely he requested or was given Mr Woodman’s number,” the draft report states.
So, yeah, but, no, but… Maybe he was just minding the phone number for a friend?
The draft report states that before Labor won the 2014 state election, Mr Woodman and his associates were cultivating senior Labor shadow ministers in case they won.
“Mr Woodman arranged and attended fundraisers and other functions which provided access to senior shadow ministers James Merlino, Tim Pallas and Martin Pakula,” the draft report states.
“Over the following years, Mr Woodman maintained contact with senior ministers, in particular the Treasurer, Tim Pallas, (former) minister for roads Luke Donnellan and Minister for Transport Jacinta Allan.
“Mr Woodman obtained access to the Premier, Deputy Premier, Treasurer, Attorney-General, Minister for Roads and Minister for Education.
Quite the networker, then.
But, as is always the way in Victoria, everybody but Dan pays the price for his government’s corruption.
Former Casey mayor Amanda Stapledon took her life in January 2022, three days after IBAC sent her its draft report into Operation Sandon. She had been examined publicly in March 2020 which friends have said left her traumatised, isolated and fearful of going to jail.
As it happens, the report was never going to lead to that. But Stapledon never got to find that out, because the release of the report has been stonewalled for years.
A Victorian coroner linked the 58-year-old death to Operation Sandon, finding the agency failed for almost two years to tell her she was not going to be prosecuted, a delay that exacerbated her mental health trauma.
The Australian
And the scandals just keep rolling on. The Commonwealth Games fiasco is far from done, no matter what the IStandWithDan apparatchiks might say.
A senate committee will reopen a probe into the Commonwealth Games and could subpoena Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to give evidence on his decision to cancel the international sporting event.
Shadow Infrastructure Minister Bridget McKenzie says the Senate Standing References Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport was set to hold hearings in Geelong and Bendigo in August […] She said the committee had the power to subpoena various individuals and private entities, and should be an exercise in transparency for the minister involved including Mr Andrews.
The Commonwealth Games cancellation may seem a trivial affair, but in fact, it creates a sovereign risk for the whole country. After all, the Commonwealth Games is a multi-billion dollar, international business investment, tied to not just the Victorian but the federal government. When a government abruptly reneges on such a signed contract, it’s a very big deal, indeed.
“It sends a signal that a contract with the Victorian government and potentially having federal implications isn’t worth the paper it’s written on and can be torn up at any given time.”
The Australian
But then, that’s the way gangster states operate.
