Vic Labor campaign staff 'taxpayer-funded'

The Victorian Labor government is facing claims some its 2014 election campaign workers were part-paid with public money.

Victorian premier Daniel Andrews

The Victorian government has been accused of improperly using parliamentary staff. (AAP)

Victorian Labor staffers were told not to tell anyone who paid them after they got taxpayer-funded wages to run election campaigns.

Two unnamed workers have gone public with detailed claims they worked as full-time Labor Field Organisers even though they were employed by the Victorian Parliament two days a week.

"I purely campaigned for the Labor party, five days a week and more ... essentially calling up people identified as party supporters or party members to try and get them involved in the local campaign," one of the unnamed workers told 3AW on Thursday.

"We were explicitly told on the first day not to mention how we were paid, and if anyone asked we were told to say we were employed by the party."

Premier Daniel Andrews repeatedly insisted the party followed the rules, but would not say how.

"People are free to make claims, that doesn't make their claims accurate," Premier Daniel Andrews said.

"There are rules in place and the rules have been followed."

Parliamentary rules for employing electorate officers say they can't be used for political campaigning.

Former Victorian treasurer John Lenders was the man in charge of running Labor's Community Action Network, and Mr Andrews strongly defended his integrity on Thursday.

An inquiry is underway, headed by the parliament's Speaker, but the opposition wants the claims referred to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission.

"If you don't, the opposition will," Liberal leader Matthew Guy said on Thursday in a blunt message to the premier.

Special Minister of State Gavin Jennings said it was "not OK" for electorate staff to do phone campaign work, but said there might have been some confusion about which work was done when.

Health Minister Jill Hennessy said she kept all of her staff in her office, while Treasurer Tim Pallas said some of his electorate staff had been used in a parliamentary pool arrangement.

Claims Labor had rorted its taxpayer-funded electorate allowances first surfaced in early September when three anonymous Labor MPs blew the whistle on the practice in the Herald Sun.

Speaker Telmo Languiller said the parliamentary audit committee will look into the allegations and produce a report in due course.


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Source: AAP


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