Kim O’KEEFFE (Shepparton) (12:32): I rise to speak on the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission Amendment Bill 2026. This is an incredibly important bill and something that Victorians have been calling for and we have been calling for. There are some really important amendments that will be proposed for this bill from our side of the house, because we know that this bill does not go far enough.
It does not matter where I go or who I talk to, people are angry. They are upset, and they are distressed about the level of corruption that this state has had to endure. The $15 billion that we have seen go up in smoke – $15 billion that could have gone into our communities – I find incredibly distressful. For an organisation – I will call us that here in this place – to have allowed that to happen I think is extraordinary. I think we have a lot to blame here, a lot of shame and a lot that needs to be exposed during the next process, because it is wrong and it should not have happened. It should not have happened to the people of Victoria. As a person that owned a business, I look back on that and think, wow, what if I had done some of these things or done that to my community or organisations that I connected with over the years? I had about 17 companies that I was financially responsible for and worked with; I used their money and put it in the right places. I just find it astounding that this has been gotten away with to this level.
From the outset, the Nationals and Liberals do not oppose this bill. We do support it. We do want to see the change that needs to happen, but I will note that the member for Brighton has moved some really important amendments to the bill and that I support those amendments strongly. The bill broadens IBAC’s corrupt conduct and follow-the-money jurisdiction, including by extending the concepts of ‘public body’ and ‘public officer’ to associated entities and third-party contracting arrangements, and replaces the existing relevant offence threshold with an offence or a serious disciplinary matter. After its more than a decade in office, Victorians are sick of the corruption that continues to be exposed about this government. Day after day, week after week, Victorians are finding out more about the level of corruption and mismanagement of funds in this state. For far too long Labor has continued to drag its feet on this issue and failed to act to address this shocking corruption. The Premier on his first day fronted the cameras and gave the commitment that integrity under his premiership would not be optional, but what we have here today is a bill that proves that integrity is entirely optional, not only under his watch but also under this government. I support strengthening IBAC, I support giving IBAC the powers it needs to investigate corruption, I support giving IBAC the ability to follow the money and I support broadening IBAC’s jurisdiction so that serious misconduct and corrupt conduct cannot simply fall through the cracks of our integrity system.
But supporting the principle of stronger IBAC powers does not mean we should support a bill that does not go far enough, because when it comes to corruption, half-measures are simply not good enough. Victorians rightly deserve an integrity system that is genuinely independent, one that is powerful and capable of following the evidence wherever it leads. This also includes following the evidence in the past. The Nationals and Liberals for some time have been calling for IBAC to be given the new powers that they need. IBAC themselves have also been calling for those powers. Integrity experts have been calling for increased powers, and as I said, the people of Victoria have been calling. Most importantly of all, Victorians are calling to see corruption in this state cleaned up. Though we have been calling for IBAC to be given new powers, IBAC has been calling for powers, integrity experts have been calling and all Victorians have been calling, what we need to make sure is that when we go through this process that $15 billion can be explained to the people of Victoria. That is what they want to hear. They want to hear where that money went, whose hands it went into and why.
What this IBAC bill does is enable what are called follow-the-money powers so that IBAC has the capacity to go to third parties, which have been a significant issue for IBAC in terms of operating investigations into matters, particularly in relation to the Big Build, where third-party contractors were at fault and alleged to have committed many of the corrupt acts. The bill also changes the relevant offence threshold within the current act to extend the capacity for investigation beyond simply an offence to also cover a serious disciplinary matter. Some of the measures proposed in this bill by those opposite are welcome, but the government has chosen to put limitations on the retrospective operation of those powers. If we are serious about corruption, why should the date on which something happened determine whether IBAC can properly investigate it? Corruption does not suddenly begin when a law commences or receives royal assent, public money does not become public money only from the date a bill passes this Parliament and misconduct does not become less serious simply because it occurred before the government decided to come to the table and strengthen IBAC – something which we on this side of the house have been calling for, something the Victorian people have also been calling for. If we are giving IBAC new powers, those powers should be fully retrospective. We as an opposition introduced a private members bill back in March this year that sought to give IBAC the ability to investigate public expenditure beyond the contractual shield that can currently prevent proper scrutiny of where taxpayers money ultimately goes.
Over the past 12 years this government has spent an enormous amount of public money on major infrastructure projects. We have seen serious allegations concerning the construction industry, contractors, subcontractors, unions and the use of public funds. Our amendments will make sure that IBAC finally have the powers that they need, the powers they deserve and the powers our integrity experts, agencies and Victorians have been calling for. Instead we have a bill which reverts entirely to Labor type, which is to cover up a $15 billion bill of corruption. It is hard to comprehend how this has been gotten away with for so long and the billions in money lost to corruption.
Victorians are angry. They want answers. They want to know what has happened to their $15 billion – money that should have gone into our hospitals, roads and infrastructure, into our communities. The GV Health redevelopment is only half completed and funded. We need an integrated cancer centre. It is wrong that whilst billions have gone up in smoke, people in my electorate have to travel to Melbourne to have treatment, putting stress and pressures on their families, who want to be with them. It makes me so angry when we have people homeless, who cannot get a roof over their heads. Our public housing waiting list is over two years. Whilst this government wastes billions of dollars, our people are homeless. We have a run-down 1972 sports stadium. It is a disgrace that investment has not gone into this facility for our community whilst money has gone up in smoke – billions of dollars that could have gone into that type of infrastructure. The roads – as we speak, someone is hitting a pothole and damaging their car and then having to pay for costly repairs due to no fault of their own. Whilst our roads have been falling apart and neglected, this government has blown billions in corruption. It is just astounding and wrong at every level, the investment that has not been made over many years, because of money that has gone up in corruption.
After months of outcry and disgust and Victorians calling for answers, the government now has finally decided to establish a royal commission, one that will examine corruption, criminal conduct and serious misconduct connected with major construction projects. But as I said, it does not go far enough. It cuts short an opportunity to ensure that no stone is unturned. That is why we have proposed the amendments that this government should accept. Why wouldn’t they want to do this fully, to have an opportunity to fully expose the depth of corruption in this state?
If the government is serious enough in establishing a royal commission, the government should also be serious enough to give IBAC the powers to investigate properly and fully. Our amendments that the member Brighton has circulated in his name on behalf of the Nationals and Liberals seek to make the bill fully retrospective, as I said, and Victorians deserve to know the full truth of such allegations that have occurred, not only now but in the past. If IBAC has new powers, it should also have the ability to exercise those powers where appropriate in relation to historical conduct, because Victorians deserve answers about their money, regardless of where that money has been spent or misused.
Another concern we have is around timely reporting. This is something that should not be controversial. When IBAC completes an investigation, Victorians should not be left waiting indefinitely for that investigation to be made public. As we have seen with the consequences of delay through Operation Richmond, that investigation itself exposed serious misconduct risks arising from dealings between the former Andrews government and the United Firefighters Union. Even though IBAC did not make a finding of corruption, that distinction is important and that exposure is important, but the public still deserves timely access to the findings of any integrity investigation. IBAC must be independent, and that is critically important, but independence should not mean that reports can sit indefinitely before the Parliament or even the public. Timely reporting means accountability while it still matters, and it means that the community can have the confidence that integrity investigations are not disappearing when they have concluded.
As I said when I started, this is an incredibly important bill. It is an incredibly important time for the people of Victoria – for what they have been calling for and what we have been calling for – and we must make sure that this is done fully, not just in parts that suit the other side of the house. We have to make sure that everything is transparent and that we have opportunity to address this $15 billion in corruption.
