Family First exists to restore Australia by restoring the primacy of the family in public policy. This will be achieved through a grass roots political party which raises courageous voices in our nation’s parliaments. More details are available on our website: https://www.familyfirstparty.org.au/
KEY FACTS:
· IBAC's Operation Richmond report was tabled in Parliament on 5 August 2026, after an eight-year investigation. It found “serious and concerning conduct” by former Premier Daniel Andrews and Special Minister of State Gavin Jennings
· IBAC found the pair acted “contrary to government policy, procedures, convention and their respective codes of conduct”. They secretly negotiated the CFA and MFB enterprise agreements that led to the creation of Fire Rescue Victoria
· The secret deal was struck over four days, in private meetings at rented spaces and a hotel. It was kept hidden from the CFA, the MFB and the then-Minister for Emergency Services, and included out-of-hours contact such as 4am texts to the Premier
· The report was delayed for years by a High Court challenge from UFU secretary Peter Marshall, who unsuccessfully fought to keep it from being made public
· Family First is calling for release of lawfully publishable IBAC evidence, an independent audit of Fire Rescue Victoria's enterprise agreements and cost base, and full transparency on any future asset sale or restructure
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
6 August 2026
Same Secrecy, Different Portfolio - Victoria's Cover-Up Culture Is Endemic, Not Isolated
Family First's Jane Foreman says IBAC findings on the Andrews government's secret firefighters' union deal are the third confirmed cover-up this year alone. Mrs Foreman says this is not one minister or one portfolio. It is a system, and it will only change with a change of government in November and a strong Family First presence in the Legislative Council to keep it honest.
The long-delayed Operation Richmond report was tabled in Parliament on Wednesday. It followed an eight-year IBAC investigation and a failed High Court bid by union boss Peter Marshall to keep it buried. IBAC found “serious and concerning conduct” by former Premier Daniel Andrews and his Special Minister of State Gavin Jennings. The pair secretly negotiated the CFA and MFB pay deals that led to the creation of Fire Rescue Victoria. The responsible minister was not told. Neither was the CFA or the MFB. IBAC found the pair acted “contrary to government policy, procedures, convention and their respective codes of conduct”. It found the government “placed itself in a position where Mr Marshall was able to exert extraordinary influence” over both agreements.
“This is the union deal that built Fire Rescue Victoria,” said Mrs Foreman. “It was done in hotel rooms and rented meeting spaces over four days. It was hidden from the CFA, the MFB and the minister whose job it was to know about it. Family First has been asking why Victorians pay the highest emergency services levy in the country. We asked why its costs and enterprise agreements are never properly opened up to scrutiny. Now we know part of the answer. The whole thing was built on a secret handshake deal that Cabinet only found out about after it was done.”
Family First says Operation Richmond is the third time in as many months that Victorians have learned Labor kept the truth from them. The pattern is always the same. Labor decides Victorians are better off not seeing a warning, a report or a deal. The truth only comes out because a journalist, a court or a watchdog forces it into the open.
“These cover-ups, across multiple portfolios, is not bad luck. It's a system,” said Mrs Foreman. “IBAC itself says these risks are serious and persist in Victoria's public sector, and it is right. This is not confined to one minister, one union or one department. It is what happens when a government has been in office so long that hiding inconvenient truths becomes the default setting.”
“It will not fix itself, no matter how many times Labor changes premiers. It can only be fixed by a change of government in November. And the only way to stop it happening again, whoever wins, is a Legislative Council with the numbers to ask the questions this government has spent years avoiding. That is exactly the check Family First will provide.”
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