Daniel Andrews has been grilled at a fiery press conference after one of his ministers sensationally stepped down from cabinet.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has spoken for the first time since one of his senior ministers quit over branch-stacking allegations.
Luke Donnellan resigned from cabinet after he was accused of being involved in branch-stacking allegations led by former Labor Party powerbroker Adem Somurek.
Mr Donnellan allegedly paid for party memberships.
He is the fourth Victorian minister turfed out of cabinet as part of the scandal.
The Premier said Mr Donnellan’s resignation came as a surprise.
Asked repeatedly about the wider fallout, Mr Andrews said he would not comment on the ongoing anti-corruption inquiry.
Mr Andrews said had not been to a factional meeting in more than a decade and had never paid for someone else’s membership or branch stacked.
“I expect all of my colleagues behaving appropriately at all times,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
“I follow the party’s rules and I behave appropriately.”
The IBAC inquiry is probing allegations of corrupt conduct within the Victorian Labor party, investigating the misuse of taxpayer-funded staff and community grants by Victorian public officers and MPs.
The investigation was sparked after allegations of industrial-scale branch stacking within the party led by former minister Adem Somyurek.
Mr Byrne on Monday told the inquiry he was personally involved in branch stacking and had paid for other people’s memberships in the party.
Mr Byrne said he spent as much as $2,000 of his own money in the one year and claimed Mr Donnellan and Mr Somyurek had also paid for memberships.
The claims prompted a swift resignation from Mr Donnellan, who stood down from his aged care and disability portfolios but will remain on the backbench.
Victorian cabinet minister Martin Pakula said Mr Donnellan was a valued colleague and he was sorry to see him go.
He said Mr Donnellan had done the right thing by resigning.
But Mr Pakula said not everyone named at the inquiry should necessarily resign.
“These things have been happening across both parties for decades and I think the circumstances of everyone is different,” he told reporters.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Mr Andrews said he had an expectation his colleagues acted appropriately and said it would be “up to Mr Donnellan” to choose whether he remained in the party.
Asked whether he had been aware of or took part in the alleged branch stacking, Mr Andrews said he had not been to a factual or caucus meeting in over a decade and took his role as leader incredibly seriously.
“I take my responsibilities as the leader of the party to be the leader for the entire party, I have a clear expectation that each and every member of my team behaves appropriately, and is as focused as I am on the people of this state,” he said.
With a further five weeks to go before the inquiry wraps up, there is concern there will be further resignations within the party.
The government will make changes to cabinet in due course, but Mr Andrews said he had not settled on a timeline.
“Let’s see what comes out of IBAC, I’m not here to foretell what they will do, to foreshadow it or to involve myself,” he said.
“There will be a process, evidence will be given, things will be said and findings will be made. We will respond to those findings when they are findings, not evidence that has been made.
rhiannon.tuffield@news.com.au
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2021-10-12 00:21:42Z
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