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Investigation of a matter referred from the Legislative Council on 9 February 2022 – Part 1
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 Investigation of a matter referred from the Legislative Council on 9 February 2022 – Part 1
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On the evening of 9 February 2022, following a debate in the Legislative Council earlier that day, the Ombudsman received a referral under section 16 of the Ombudsman Act 1973 (Vic).
The referral required the Ombudsman to investigate a number of matters, some of which had already been investigated or were at the time under investigation.
Specifically, the 'Red Shirts scheme’ was the subject of the Investigation of a matter referred from the Legislative Council on 25 November 2015, tabled in Parliament on 21 March 2018.
Allegations of electorate officers and ministerial advisers engaging in factional activities, including branch stacking, were the subject of Operation Watts, a joint investigation with IBAC. That investigation was undertaken following a referral to the Ombudsman from the Legislative Council on 17 June 2020, and a report was tabled in Parliament on 20 July 2022.
This report (Part 1) responds to (a) to (c) of the February 2022 Legislative Council referral.
Other matters – specifically, (d) to (f) of the referral – have not previously been investigated by the Ombudsman and will be the subject of a separate report (Part 2) when the investigation is completed.
