Court rejects UFU boss’s attempt to bury major corruption involving Daniel Andrews-led Labor government

A major corruption report involving Daniel Andrews can now be released after a powerful union official lost a court battle to bury it.

Victoria’s Supreme Court cleared the way for the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) to release its Operation Richmond report on Friday, rejecting United Firefighters’ Union boss Peter Marshall’s attempt to block it.

IBAC had been set to release its report in May, only for Mr Marshall and the UFU to launch a last-ditch attempt to stop it. While the identities of the parties were initially kept secret, they were unmasked last month.

The case led the head of IBAC to release an extraordinary statement declaring the public “deserve to know” the content of its work, but that they lacked the power to make it public.

In a decision handed down on Friday morning, Supreme Court Justice Claire Harris ruled that Mr Marshall and the UFU had not “established any grounds of review” to challenge the release of the corruption report.

IBAC’s Operation Richmond report is understood to detail the findings from a top-secret investigation that dates back to a 2018 complaint.

While initially focused on the United Firefighters Union’s role in the amalgamation of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade and the Country Fire Authority, the scope of the inquiry is understood to have expanded to cover the relationship between the UFU and the government of former premier Daniel Andrews.

Intercepted communications involving government figures and discussions connected to Labor support are also understood to form part of the material examined during the investigation. 

Operation Richmond has already been delayed for years as legal challenges moved through the courts, including cases that reached the High Court. 

Its release ahead of the November state election could cause a major headache for the Labor government, now led by Premier Jacinta Allan, particularly given the ongoing controversy over the Big Build corruption scandal.

The delayed release of the Operation Richmond report has led the Victorian Opposition to introduce legislation to strip individuals of the ability to block the release of similar findings. 

“The culture of corruption and cover-ups under Labor must come to an end,” Ms Wilson said in June.

“Our new laws will end the delays and obfuscation and support the anti-corruption commission to release their reports and findings in a timely manner.”