The Victorian Liberal Party has accused the state's electoral commission of failing to act "independently and impartially" over its public comments about an investigation into Opposition Leader Matthew Guy and his former chief of staff.
Key points:
- The Liberal Party is accusing the VEC of interfering in the state election
- Electoral commissioner Warwick Gately says the body's regulatory approach does not change "as election day nears"
- Mr Guy says he has complied with "the full extent of the law" in relation to the original investigation
The party's criticism of the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) comes a week out from a state election and a day after the body revealed it had referred a probe into Mr Guy and his former staffer Mitch Catlin to the state's anti-corruption watchdog.
The VEC on Thursday said it made the referral after it had "exhausted" attempts to examine the issue, and had not received "full cooperation from those connected to its investigation".
On Friday, VEC communications director Sue Lang told radio station 3AW that the VEC had not received "satisfactory responses" when trying to investigate the issue.
"I am saying that the people we invited to speak with us did not satisfy our inquiries," Ms Lang told host Neil Mitchell.
"All the key players were invited to respond and we received no satisfactory response."
Hours later, Victorian Liberal Party state director Sam McQuestin said he had instructed the party's lawyers to write to the VEC to express "deep concerns relating to the recent conduct and public comments of the VEC regarding the Catlin matter".
"It is the party's view that these action constitute a serious, deliberate and unprecedented interference in the Victorian state election," he said in a statement.
He said the Liberal Party was calling for Ms Lang to be stood aside from her role "pending a full external and transparent investigation into her comments and on whose authority she made them".
The statement then outlined a list of "immediate actions" the party was seeking from the VEC, including for the body to refrain from any more public commentary about the matter for the remainder of the election campaign.
The Victorian election is being held just over a week's time on Saturday November 26.
Mr McQuestin's statement went on to say he was "deeply concerned" that the VEC's actions had "compromised its own independence and damaged public trust in the electoral process".
A letter sent to the VEC from Liberal Party lawyers expressed concerns "regarding the conduct of the VEC, and its apparent failure to act independently and impartially, in breach of its values and obligations".
VEC communications manager Marie Guerin confirmed on Friday afternoon on ABC Melbourne's Drive program that her colleague, Ms Lang, had not been stood down by the organisation.
In a separate statement, electoral commissioner Warwick Gately said the VEC's responsibilities under the state's electoral laws were not subject to a moratorium in the lead-up to an election.
"As the independent, impartial body responsible for conducting elections and administering electoral laws on behalf of all Victorians, the VEC does not change its regulatory approach as election day nears," he said.
He said the organisation published its "regulatory approach" at the beginning of October, "which concentrates on the principles of constructive compliance and referring matters to other agencies, where needed".
Mr Gately said the body offered briefings to all political parties to share its election planning.
"All of us at the VEC are committed to conducting a safe and secure election for all Victorians, and I have every confidence in our ability to do so," Mr Gately said.
"I remain firmly committed to my role as Victoria's independent electoral administrator and my actions and decisions are taken accordingly.
"This includes the decision to act, or not to act."
Opposition Leader defends his actions for a second consecutive day
At a press conference on Friday afternoon Shadow Health Minister Georgie Crozier said the VEC was supposed to be "the umpire, not the player" in the state election.
"This has a risk of eroding public trust in a democratic process and we are very concerned about what has been said," she said.
On Thursday Mr Guy said he had "done nothing wrong" and said he had provided all the information he had to the VEC, and on Friday morning he defended himself once again while on the campaign trail.
"I've complied to the full extent of the law," he said.
"What I've been asked for I've provided. I was told some weeks ago they were pursuing other lines of inquiry and that's a matter for them."
Assistant Treasurer Danny Pearson said the opposition questioning the independence of the VEC was an "unprecedented intervention" in a state election.
"We've never seen this sort of intervention, ever," he said.
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2022-11-18 05:49:32Z
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