“Unethical practices”, “systemic” across a political party, “approved or condoned by the party leadership”. A premier grilled by an anti-corruption body. A draft report into a major branch-stacking scandal that has already cost several ministers their jobs in a government that has become a byword for scandal.
And yet barely a ripple in the federal election campaign.
When The Age’s Nick McKenzie and Sumeyya Ilanbey reported last week on a draft Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) report into the Victorian Labor Party, including that Premier Dan Andrews had been questioned on the way to conclusions about systemic unethical behaviour approved by the party leadership, you could have fairly expected it would crop up during the campaign. Especially with the Coalition in terrible trouble in Victoria — this week’s Morgan poll shows Labor leading 63.5% to 36.5% there.
Voters readily distinguish between state and federal issues, but who could resist the opportunity to link Victorian Labor with federal Labor, especially given Deputy Opposition Leader Richard Marles has been a target of the government for his views on China (a claim that, given Marles is an eager source for US intelligence-gathering, is pretty funny).
But while other outlets picked up on The Age’s report, the subject failed to trouble the scorers federally. That’s despite the draft report confirming that, when it comes to state government corruption, the Andrews government — courtesy of the Red Shirts scandal and its toxically close relationship with the rotten Crown casino empire — is the current leader.
But Scott Morrison — or any federal conservative, really — couldn’t touch the scandal, because the federal Coalition is hopelessly hamstrung by its own opposition to anti-corruption bodies. Having derided state-based anti-corruption bodies as “kangaroo courts”, the prime minister could hardly use a draft IBAC report to attack Labor. Especially after NSW premier Dominic Perrottet criticised Morrison’s attack on the NSW body and suggested a little respect might be in order.
Morrison’s position is now blank refusal to establish a federal independent commission against corruption, having not even produced a bill for one in the past three years. Any mention of state anti-corruption findings against a Labor figure would immediately invite the question of what he’s so afraid of that he won’t establish a federal one.
Morrison’s entire strategy on a federal ICAC during the campaign is to hope people don’t mention it. The issue attracted considerable coverage during the first leaders debate but dwindled rapidly afterwards as issues like cost of living began to dominate. Any oxygen for the issue is also a blessing for teal independents who are campaigning hard on integrity against so-called Liberal moderates.
That’s all campaign fun and games as far as it goes, but there are some real-world consequences. The Victorian Liberal opposition is so mind-numbingly inept and so extreme that it has taken Victoria to the brink of a one-party state.
It’s hard to think of a scandal big enough that would have Victorian voters looking at Matthew Guy and his Liberal colleagues with anything other than incredulity. Andrews and his rotten government are getting a free pass when they should be in their political death throes, with IBAC set to deliver the coup de grace.
In fact if it wasn’t for IBAC, there’d be minimal accountability at all for Victorian Labor.
