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Defiant Melhem hits back at commission

Embattled Victorian MP Cesar Melham has refused to stand down after the unions royal commission referred him to prosecutors for possible criminal conduct.

Victorian MP Cesar Melhem
Cesar Melhem is refusing to stand down after the royal commission referred him to prosecutors. (AAP)

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Source: AAP


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An emotional Cesar Melhem is refusing to quit the Victorian parliament and has vowed to clear his name despite facing possible criminal charges.

The unions royal commission has referred the former Victorian secretary of the Australian Workers' Union to prosecutors over corruption and false accounting allegations.

The Labor government MP called the royal commission "a Liberal party kangaroo court" unbound by the rules of evidence on Wednesday and welcomed scrutiny from a proper court of law.

"They are happy - the Liberal government and this royal commission - to basically destroy people's names and reputations and families," he told reporters.

"I welcome any investigation by a proper authority and I will fully co-operate in this process.

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"I continue to vehemently deny any wrongdoing."

Mr Melhem stood down as upper house whip in June after the allegations of criminal conduct surfaced.

State and federal coalition figures want Premier Daniel Andrews to sack Mr Melhem from the Labor Party.

Victorian employment minister Jacinta Allan would not speculate on Mr Melhem's future, saying it would be inappropriate to comment on a matter that may go before the courts.

"It's very difficult to comment on a report I haven't seen but I have been advised they do contain serious and significant recommendations," she said.

"The premier has made the observation on a number of occasions now that, in Victoria, people are required to obey the law and when they don't, they'll feel the force of the law in response."

Former federal employment minister Eric Abetz called on Mr Andrews to sack Mr Melhem in the wake of the "pretty devastating" findings.

"I would've thought any premier would need to take that course of action and I would invite the Victorian premier to do so," the Liberal senator said.

That sentiment was echoed by Victorian opposition industrial relations spokesman Robert Clark.

"If Daniel Andrews fails to act, it just adds to the stench of rorts and abuse of office in the Victorian Labor party," he said.

The AWU itself has also been referred to authorities over deals it made with several companies.

AWU Victorian secretary Ben Davis said any action against the branch would be vigorously defended.

"Any reform which may have been necessary has already taken place," Mr Davis said.

Mr Melhem stood by his time as AWU Victorian secretary and said there was no suggestion by the commission he had personally profited from the role.


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