Victorian Opposition Leader Matthew Guy will be referred to authorities after his chief of staff resigned following a report he asked a party donor to make a $100,000 payment to his personal company.
Guy confirmed at a press conference this morning he had accepted Mitch Catlin’s offer to step down from the taxpayer-funded role.
The resignation comes after report in The Age claimed Catlin had asked a wealthy Liberal Party donor to make more than $100,000 in payments to his private marketing business, in addition to his taxpayer-funded salary.
Guy insisted the contract – which the report said would have required the donor to pay $8333 a month to Catchy Media Marketing and Management – was never signed off.
“Let me be very, very clear. There was no agreement, there was nothing signed,” Guy said.
Guy said he planned to bring in changes to ensure his staff’s actions were guided by integrity rules in future.
“There is currently no code of conduct for opposition staff, I accept that as an issue that needs a resolution – I will fix that,” he said.
“We will make sure there is a code of conduct for opposition staff, as there should be for government staff.
“I value integrity in government and also in opposition.”
The Age reported it had seen leaked documents that showed Catlin had hired lawyers to draw up a contract for the arrangement.
The name of the donor was redacted in the documents.
The Andrews government this afternoon announced it will refer Guy’s “alleged involvement in a secret scheme to breach Victoria’s donation laws” to Victoria Police, the Victorian Electoral Commission, the Victorian Ombudsman and IBAC and Australian Federal Police for investigation.
Government Services Minister Danny Pearson said Guy “needs to come clean and fess up and indicate to Victorians what he’s been up to”.
“He’s got serious questions to answer,” Pearson said.
“He’s running for the highest office in the state.
“He wants to be premier of our great state within four months.
“Victorians have a right to know what has been occurring in his office.
“It’s important that the relevant authorities conduct a full and thorough investigation to work out what’s occurred.”
Guy hit back with his own statement calling the government’s referral of the issue to law enforcement agencies “a desperate attempt from a tired, corrupt and arrogant government to distract from its own integrity failings”.
“I look forward to Victoria’s integrity agencies confirming this referral for what it is – an unfounded and desperate political stunt,” his statement read.
