The state’s peak anti-corruption agency will be given a broader remit as soon as possible to stamp out public sector malfeasance, conflicts of interest and improper influence that falls short of criminal conduct, as new Premier Ben Carroll seeks to restore public trust in government.
Carroll said he would immediately seek advice on whether proposed changes to IBAC’s jurisdiction due to come into force at the end of next year could be brought forward. “If we can bring it forward, I will,” he said.
He promised that a special prosecutor working in tandem with a royal commission into the building industry to secure criminal convictions would be given whatever time and resources they need to clean up the corruption-plagued major projects sector.
“I’m going to lead with integrity,” Carroll said. “Integrity is non-negotiable. It’s fundamental.
“I’m hoping the public will at least see that I’m trying to do the right thing by them.”
Opposition Leader Jess Wilson released on Saturday her proposed terms of reference for a royal commission and a suggested list of witnesses including Daniel Andrews, Jacinta Allan and Carroll.
Carroll said the terms of reference would be finalised this week and he had a shortlist of candidates for the roles of commissioner and special prosecutor.
In seeking to explain the events that led up to last week’s dramatic change of Labor leader and premier, Carroll also addressed questions about his personal integrity.
He insists that he remained a loyal deputy to Allan until last Monday, when a delegation of cross-factional leaders told the former premier she had lost the support of her own government and urged Carroll to challenge for the leadership.
It is less clear whether, as deputy premier, he made the case inside government for a royal commission or more urgent Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission reforms – steps he now says are crucial to restoring public faith in a 12-year-old Labor government.
Two cabinet ministers have told The Age – and Carroll did not deny – that last Tuesday’s fateful caucus meeting was the first time he advocated for a royal commission into Big Build corruption in any government forum.
When pressed on whether he counselled Allan privately to establish a royal commission, Carroll did not answer directly but said it was clear the former premier was not for turning.
“I didn’t raise things where it looked like the deputy and premier were on different sides of the fence,” he told The Age in an exclusive interview.
“I raised with the premier a number of times that she needed to do something. Privately, I have also been talking to colleagues about a royal commission.
“We spoke most Sunday nights before every cabinet meeting. She was very clear with her views and always sought my support. The role of the deputy is to give the premier support. Even when I disagreed with her privately, I’ve always backed her publicly and in the cabinet room.
“The premier has known I have been wanting transparency and accountability for a long time.”
The comments are unlikely to heal the internal party wounds created by last week’s bruising leadership change. In a wide-ranging interview, Carroll revealed other instances where he disagreed with government decisions but was unable to publicly ventilate his concerns while upholding cabinet solidarity.
Carroll admitted for the first time that a secret decision taken by the Allan government to delay by three years its commitment to fully fund public schools was a $2.4 billion funding cut and the wrong thing to do. The decision, which was exposed by The Age, is at the heart of the bitter wage dispute between the government and teachers.
It was taken by the government’s budget and finance committee, of which the premier and deputy premier are members. Carroll, who is also education minister, opposed the move but failed to stop it.
“I argued ferociously in the cabinet subcommittee process,” Carroll said. “I did speak up about it.” He said cabinet confidentially prevented him from publicly discussing the funding cut, even after it was revealed by this newspaper.
“When cabinet arrives at a position you need to support that position.”
Carroll said the current pay offer before teachers, while generous, was not enough to fully fund government schools under the Gonski formula. He raised with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last week the need to lift school funding in Victoria and deliver the long-awaited Gonski reforms.
“I am committed to try and get full and fair funding for our public schools,” he said.
He agreed the tax burden on business in Victoria, particularly since increases to payroll tax and land tax announced by former treasurer Tim Pallas in 2023, needed to be lightened. The tax rises were announced as temporary but are due to remain in force until 2033.
“We want to be competitive with NSW. We’ve got to do everything we can to make it easy to start a business in Victoria and grow a business,” Carroll said. “We’ve also just got to support everyday Victorians who are working hard every day. We are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis which is hurting and biting and it has no end in sight.”
One of the 2023 tax increases removed the payroll tax exemption for non-government schools. While the impost was adjusted in this year’s budget to impact fewer schools, Carroll left open the possibility of scrapping it altogether.
“I think this was a necessary measure for the time, but I’m always open to continue working with the sector,” he said.
Carroll said the planned Suburban Rail Loop, the most expensive infrastructure project in the state’s history, was a good concept undermined by the way it was developed, in secret, under then-premier Daniel Andrews in the lead-up to the 2018 election.
While the government’s contractual commitments to the SRL and the project’s financial assumptions will be reviewed by cabinet, Carroll said the rail line already under construction needed to be built.
“I have always believed the project is a great concept. The problem with the SRL is its gestation period – it never had one. Airport rail had been talked about for 100 years. SRL was never part of the public discussion. It came as a surprise to a lot of people, including cabinet members.
“However, the project does have merit and the project does need to continue. I’m not going to stop contracts or rip up contracts. That era is over.”
He acknowledged concerns expressed by Victoria’s integrity agencies about the budget squeeze on their operations and capacity to expose corruption, misconduct and financial mismanagement.
“We need strong, independent agencies – IBAC, the Auditor-General, the Ombudsman. We are stewards of our public finances and institutions. That’s a role I take very seriously.”
When asked about reports that he wants to change legislation, currently before parliament, to give people a legal right to work from home two days a week, Carroll said the government would consider sensible amendments but not move any itself.
Since taking the leadership, he has been repeatedly questioned and attacked by the opposition over comments he made six weeks ago, referencing his daughter, in which he vowed to support Jacinta Allan through to the state election.
He said it was not the first time he had made the comment and that he previously wrote to Allan expressing the same sentiment.
Carroll and Allan had a private meeting in the premier’s office the day before Tuesday’s leadership spill. Neither has disclosed what was discussed. Carroll said that by then, the political reality had changed, with an unrelenting corruption scandal cruelling whatever chance Allan and Labor had to remain in power after the November 28 state election.
“We’d all been out door-knocking and it was very clear we weren’t getting the message through,” he said. Instead, voters were outraged at the estimated $15 billion cost of the Building Bad scandal documented by this masthead.
“I want to be a premier that is listening, that hears the message and gets on with it. That’s why my first act was to call the royal commission. It’s why I will give the police commissioner every power and resource he needs. It’s why I will do what I can do to give IBAC the power and resources it needs.
“And then, there are things I want to do that are part of Labor’s DNA.”
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Chip Le Grand leads our state politics reporting team. He previously served as the paper’s chief reporter and is a journalist of 30 years’ experience.Connect via email.
