Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has called for widespread reform to the state’s political parties amid a revealing report into “branch stacking” in the Labor Party.
The opposition has criticised his pledge for integrity reform as a sleight of hand to distract from the Labor Party’s internal issues.
The joint report released by the state’s anti-corruption body, the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC), along with the Victorian Ombudsman exposed the deliberate, widespread, and egregious misuse of taxpayer funds for political gain within Labor Party ranks.
The report, released on July 20, outlined 21 recommendations to stop branch-stacking, including establishing a parliamentary integrity commissioner and ethics committee, narrowing the scope of permissible work for electorate officers, and banning MPs from employing close family members in their electorate office….