Stunningly, Victoria's anti-corruption agencies (Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission, the Auditor-General's Office, and the Victorian Ombudsman) have jointly condemned the Victorian Labor Government for having no commitment or substantive action at managing their budgets without influence of political pressure.
The Agencies' statement has been made in the lead up to Victoria hosting an anti-corruption commission conference, which will focus on why anti-corruption commissions are being undermined and how to fix it.
Chair of Transparency International and Griffith University Professor A.J Brown will deliver the keynote address and reportedly claim: "Victoria has the worst corruption challenge...confidence in the state government's commitment to fighting corruption and the ability of the anti-corruption commission to tackle it is lower in Victoria than anywhere else in the country."
The Professor's assessment is based on his joint Australian Research Council five-year project, funded through the Discover Project, which has found that Victorians believe that the Victorian Labor Government is failing at fighting corruption, when compared to the rest of Australia.
Only 19.5 per cent of respondents in Victoria believe that the state government is doing a good job at fighting corruption, compared to 33.2 per cent in South Australia and Western Australia, 32 per cent in Queensland, and 31.8 per cent in New South Wales.
The Shadow Minister for Anti-Corruption, James Newbury, said: "Victorians know that there is a sickness creeping across our state, with the Victorian Labor Government perverting our institutions.
"Whether it be through overt political appointments across historically impartial roles, or targeted starving of funding, the Victorian Labor Government has proven to be the disease, at the root cause of our corruption problem."
