Victoria’s MPs will spend the lead up to the AFL Grand Final in parliament after the government scheduled an additional sitting week to push through its changes to the state’s anti-corruption commission.
MPs were notified this morning of the last-minute change to the sitting calendar, which will make both houses sit between September 22-24. This will be followed by a two-month election campaign before Victorians go to the polls on November 28.
Victorian Premier Ben Carroll.Eamon Gallagher
Premier Ben Carroll and his Special Minister for State Ingrid Stitt last week flagged that the proposed changes to IBAC, which includes giving the agency long called-for, follow-the-dollar powers and a broader jurisdiction to tackle grey corruption across the public sector, would be treated as an urgent bill and dealt with in the one sitting week.
The opposition, which supports giving IBAC more powers, also wants to remove the current restrictions on the agency’s use of public hearings. As the law stands, IBAC can only publicly examine witnesses in exceptional circumstances.
The most important business before Victorian parliament this sitting week is the government’s work from home legislation, which Carroll has promised to amend to address business concerns.