2026-02-19
Labor shuts down bill to give anti-corruption watchdog “follow the dollar” powers
Jacinta Allan’s Labor Government has just shut down landmark laws to give IBAC the power to “follow the dollar” and track how taxpayer money flows through subcontractors and labour hire firms on major government projects.
The Greens attempted to move their “follow the dollar” amendment as part of a wide-ranging omnibus government Bill, aimed at closing a glaring loophole that has allowed up to $15 billion of public money to go missing on Labor’s major infrastructure projects.
The Greens say that after they had secured support from the opposition and crossbenchers to support the laws, Labor shut down any debate on the bill to avoid the Greens amendments even going to a vote. If passed, these laws would have moved IBAC a step closer to getting the powers it has been begging for.
The Leader of the Victorian Greens, Ellen Sandell said that Victorians will be right to ask why Labor is so determined to stop our anti-corruption watchdog from having these basic powers.
Quotes attributable to the Leader of the Victorian Greens, Ellen Sandell:
“Victorians will be appalled by the lengths Jacinta Allan and the Labor Party have gone to block laws that would strengthen our anti-corruption watchdog.
“The Parliament could have fixed our anti-corruption laws this week, if Labor hadn’t pulled out all the stops to prevent this from happening. That’s appalling behaviour from Labor and Victorians will be rightly asking what Labor has to hide.
“This isn’t the first scandal the Victorian Labor Party has been entangled in and given their total disdain for transparency and accountability, I’m sadly afraid it won’t be the last.”
-ENDS-