Matthew Guy and his former chief of staff referred to Ibac over $100k payments plan

Victorian Electoral Commission has ‘not received full cooperation’ in its attempt to investigate the issue

Victoria’s opposition leader, Matthew Guy, and his former chief of staff have been referred to the state’s corruption watchdog over allegations of trying to circumvent political donation laws.

The Victorian Electoral Commission on Wednesday referred its Matthew Guy and Mitch Catlin investigation to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (Ibac) for further investigation, it revealed on Thursday.

The electoral commissioner, Warwick Gately, said his organisation had exhausted its attempts to fully investigate what may constitute a breach of Victoria’s funding and disclosure laws under the Electoral Act.

“It’s my responsibility to ensure compliance with all electoral laws and ensure all participants are held to the same standard,” he said in a statement.

Catlin resigned as Guy’s chief of staff in August after it was reported that he allegedly asked a billionaire Liberal donor to make more than $100,000 in payments to his private marketing company.

A contract for the proposed arrangement was sent to Guy’s personal email address, but he has categorically denied it was signed or agreed.

Guy has repeatedly said he and the Liberal party have fully cooperated with the electoral commission and denied exploiting a legal loophole to stymie the probe.

In its statement on Thursday, the electoral commission said: “Despite public statements to the contrary, the VEC has not received full cooperation from those connected to its investigation.

“While the VEC is not in a position to allege wrongdoing based on the allegations it has sought to investigate, the possibility of offences … have also not been able to be discounted.”

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Guy said he was not sure the VEC’s statement about non-cooperation referred to him.

I’ve done nothing wrong … I’ve provided everything that was asked to me. I’ve done that once. I’ll do that again,” Guy said.

“I provided everything … weeks ago. You can’t provide things that don’t exist.”

Also on Thursday the Liberals referred allegations of group voting ticket deals done by the so-called “preference whisperer” Glenn Druery to the integrity watchdog.

A covert video revealing discussions of backroom preference deals was leaked to the Herald Sun by the Angry Victorians party.

Contributor

Australian Associated Press and Adeshola Ore

The GuardianTramp

Related Content

Article image
Matthew Guy denies loss of senior Victorian Liberal official will impact state election campaign
Liberal party source says departure of deputy director Scott Samson shows campaign is a ‘mess’

Benita Kolovos

04, Oct, 2022 @4:03 AM

Article image
Daniel Andrews joins kindergarteners on eve of Victorian election, but Matthew Guy is all business
Premier spends last full day of the campaign in Northcote, where the Greens are making headway

Adeshola Ore

25, Nov, 2022 @6:50 AM

Article image
‘We are safe’: Matthew Guy seeks a reset in final days of Victorian election campaign
Opposition leader launches ‘real solutions plan’ to the Liberal party faithful after days of controversy

Benita Kolovos

21, Nov, 2022 @8:45 AM

Article image
Liberal campaign stunt may backfire as ‘Ditch Dan ambulance’ prompts legal questions
Victorian opposition leader rubbishes suggestions restored vehicle could be mistaken for a real ambulance

Adeshola Ore

02, Nov, 2022 @5:31 AM

Article image
Victorian opposition makes $160m bus overhaul election promise as Labor flags more dog parks
Matthew Guy seeks to woo outer-metropolitan voters while Daniel Andrews campaigns in inner suburbs on day three of the Victoria election

Benita Kolovos and Adeshola Ore

04, Nov, 2022 @4:14 AM

Article image
‘No health workers want to stand with us’: the challenge for Victoria’s Coalition
The two major parties are sparring over health policies, but some Liberal sources are questioning the strategy

Benita Kolovos

01, Oct, 2022 @7:00 PM

Article image
Victoria’s Liberals need to define who they are before deciding who can lead them back from oblivion
With a primary vote sitting on 29.7% – its lowest result since 1952 – it’s clear the party’s problems run deep

Benita Kolovos

27, Nov, 2022 @7:37 AM

Article image
‘Change-or-die moment’: Victorian Liberals facing worst primary vote share in 70 years
Candidate issues stark warning that party must do more to attract voters under 40 or ‘we will die in Victoria’

Benita Kolovos

27, Nov, 2022 @1:37 AM

Article image
Victorian Liberal party left shellshocked after another heavy election defeat
Opposition leader Matthew Guy concedes the Coalition has ‘a lot of work to do’ after losing six of past seven elections

Adeshola Ore

26, Nov, 2022 @1:09 PM

Article image
Victorian election: with Melbourne Cup over, now comes real race for Daniel Andrews and Matthew Guy
Polls and pundits have Labor winning in a canter, but strategists from both sides expect the margin to narrow as 26 November approaches

Benita Kolovos

01, Nov, 2022 @2:00 PM