Former Victorian minister Theo Theophanous has vehemently denied any wrongdoing after the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) found he’d misused his position on a government board to lobby on behalf of a development consortium.

IBAC found that Mr Theophanous failed to declare that he’d lobbied on behalf of the Australian Education City (AEC) consortium while serving as a board member with the Victorian Planning Authority.

The consortium was selected as the preferred developer in 2015 to convert a large parcel of public land in East Werribee into a sprawling education, research and housing complex; a $31 billion-dollar project.

However, the entity failed to win government support for the development after four years of negotiations.

IBAC’s report titled Operation Clara, the culmination of a three-year investigation into improper conduct on the part of Mr Theophanous, states in its summary that,

“in lieu of direct payment for his lobbying activities, (Mr Theophanous) obtained other benefits from the AEC and a special adviser to the AEC, namely donations (including in-kind support) to his daughter’s 2018 campaign for the State electorate of Northcote.”

The commission did however note that it found no evidence Mr Theophanous’ daughter, Northcote MP Kat Theophanous was aware of the circumstances of her father’s relationship with the AEC.

A number of recommendations have been submitted to the Victorian government as part of the report, including:

–     That the Department of Premier and Cabinet amend the Appointment and Remuneration Guidelines.

–     That the Department of Premier and Cabinet revise the Lobbyist Code of Conduct.

–     That the Victorian Public Sector Commission revise the Code of Conduct for Directors, and

–     That the Minister for Planning amend the VPA Act to specify that proceedings for a summary offence may be commenced within the period of three years after the alleged offence.

In a response provided to Neos Kosmos upon request, Mr Theophanous absolutely and categorically rejected the commission’s findings.

The former minister told Neos Kosmos “I refute IBAC’s claims against me in their entirety.”

“The findings and allegations in IBAC’s report simply do not stack up against logic, the timelines, the context or the evidence (…) IBAC’s report lacks coherence, credibility and truthfulness. It demonstrates all that is wrong with IBAC.”

Mr Theophanous continued by stating that IBAC “draws a very long bow” in its finding that he worked as an “unpaid lobbyist for months, in the hope that someday the company would donate to the ALP.”

He further retorts the findings by stating that,

“IBAC refused to contemplate or test my alternative explanation that I supported the AEC project as one that, properly delivered, would have provided jobs, investment, and educational opportunities in the Western suburbs and that I did not see this support as ‘unpaid lobbying’ but as expressing a point of view.”

“A section in the VPA’s own code of conduct (ignored by IBAC) actually allows for such expressions of support without it being a conflict,” he said.

The former minister says through this process IBAC “has once again demonstrated a complete disregard for the principles of our democracy and its responsibilities within it.”

Mr Theophanous who recently resigned from his position on the VPA’s board said,

“This ordeal has had a substantial impact on me and my family. Based on advice from my health providers, and in order to not disrupt the important work of the government and boards that I am on I am resigning from all such boards.”

And concluded his statement by saying that “IBAC’s report should be a bright red flag to any government contemplating IBAC’s bid for more power and resources.”