The Victorian government has been accused of backflipping after agreeing to overhaul an integrity agency committee in a deal with the crossbench.
A motion to establish a parliamentary inquiry into accusations Victorian Labor MPs told an independent auditor to "find dirt" on the corruption watchdog was set to be debated in the upper house on Wednesday.
But it has been put on the backburner after the Greens and Legalise Cannabis Party secured a deal with the government to guarantee the committee will no longer have a government majority or government chair.
It was revealed this month former Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) boss Robert Redlich wrote to parliament's Speaker and President with complaints about a Labor-majority committee.
Mr Redlich said Callida Consulting, which was hired to audit the agency, was directed by Labor members of the Integrity and Oversight Committee (IOC) to "find dirt on IBAC and data that is not readily publicly available".
He called for the committee not to be chaired by a government member or have a majority of government MPs.
Greens MP Tim Read, who sits on the committee, said the inquiry would have generated headlines and recommendations that would have been unlikely to be acted on.
"So we've gone for a bird in the hand rather than several in the bush," he told reporters at parliament.
The concession offers an immediate response to Mr Redlich's call and will restore faith in public processes and practices, Legalise Cannabis Party MP Rachel Payne added.
Under the deal, an extra member will be added to become a seven-person committee and the non-government chair will cast the deciding vote.
Mr Read said he would nominate to become chair but declined to pre-empt whether the committee should officially inquire into Mr Redlich's accusations.
Shadow Attorney-General Michael O'Brien questioned whether the Greens could be trusted on integrity given its backroom deal with Labor.
"The very first test (of) whether the Greens have actually been bought by Labor or are simply rented is going to be whether or not this inquiry goes ahead," he said.
The opposition's upper house leader Georgie Crozier said their motion will not be put to a vote on Wednesday, to keep it live if the IOC doesn't probe Mr Redlich's letter.
She accused the Andrews government of backflipping after voting down a push for the IOC to have a non-government chair during the last sitting week.
"This government will stop at nothing to cover up corruption in this state," Ms Crozier said.
Attorney-General and government upper house leader Jaclyn Symes said Labor "read the tea leaves", with the proposed select committee likely to recommend a non-government majority and chair.
"We're happy to, through the conversations, make changes to the IOC as soon as today," she said.
Ms Symes said she was not afraid of Mr Redlich, whose five-year term as IBAC commissioner ended late last year, in the event he appears before the IOC to probe his allegations.
