2023-12-01
The Victorian Greens have welcomed the Victorian Government’s decision to make ministerial diaries public, saying it will help strengthen the state’s integrity standards.
Making ministerial diaries public was a key part of the Greens’ four-point plan to improve Victoria’s flagging political integrity standards released during the state election last year.
The Greens had also previously introduced a private members’ bill into parliament requiring them to be published.
The state’s integrity watchdog IBAC also recommended the reform in a special report released in October last year.
Victorian Greens integrity spokesperson, Dr Tim Read, said it was good to see Victoria finally following the lead of QLD, NSW and the ACT who all publish ministerial diaries.
He said it would help Victorians see who was influencing government decisions, and prevent dodgy behaviour between ministers and lobbyists.
The Greens say now Labor must now legislate stronger codes of conduct for lobbyists, ministers and their staff, including the requirement to publish diaries.
Quotes attributable to Victorian Greens integrity spokesperson, Dr Tim Read:
“Labor really shouldn’t have to be forced by IBAC and the Greens to introduce these long overdue reforms when there is so much more to do on raising integrity standards.
"Investigation after investigation has shown that our state’s political integrity standards are lacking, and misconduct is rife.
“The Greens have been calling for ministerial diaries to be published for years, so welcome today’s announcement.
“But there’s still more to do. Victoria could be a leader on integrity in our country, and instead we’re a laggard.
“We need to legislate the codes of conduct for lobbyists, ministers and their staff and strengthen them to require clearer information on potential conflicts of interest.”