Brumby must rule out leaks to gov’t from OPI probes

John Brumby must rule out the possibility that confidential intelligence from secret Victoria Police investigations was leaked to his government to support its negotiations with the police union.

Shadow Attorney-General Robert Clark said today the need for an independent judicial inquiry into potential illegal misuse of intelligence by Victoria Police and Brumby Government Ministers and MPs was growing by the day.

“Today’s disturbing report in The Australian reveals the possibility that information was secretly obtained by the Brumby Government from a phone tap being used as part of an investigation into corruption,” Mr Clark said.

“The report suggests that information about union tactics regarding Enterprise Bargaining Agreement negotiations with the government was passed on to members of the Brumby Government to help it in its negotiations with the Police Association.

“If information has been obtained from a phone tap and used for non-permissible purposes, those who passed on that information and its recipient would be in breach of the Federal Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979.

“These are serious offences, punishable by up to two years’ imprisonment.

“It would also be deeply alarming if John Brumby’s Labor government as an employer misused illegally obtained information from telephone taps to exploit its workforce in wage negotiations.

“There is no doubt that an independent judicial investigation is urgently required into allegations that the law was broken by leaks of intelligence information during the course of Operations Diana and Briars by Victoria Police and members of the Brumby Government.

“John Brumby must immediately rule out publicly and categorically that information from Operations Briars or Diana was made available to or used by any member of his government,” Mr Clark said.