Firefighters’ union boss loses court battle to bury corruption investigation
Firefighters’ union boss Peter Marshall has failed in his bid to block the publication of a report by Victoria’s anti-corruption watchdog into contentious dealings between the union and the Andrews government a decade ago.
Supreme Court Justice Claire Harris on Friday rejected an application by Marshall and the United Firefighters Union to stop the Independent Broad-Based Anti-Corruption Commission (IBAC) from releasing its report into its long-running Operation Richmond investigation.
IBAC was preparing to publish its findings in May but was delayed by Marshall’s latest Supreme Court move. His identity was initially kept secret in that appeal and the union boss publicly denied trying to stop the report’s publication, but the court unmasked him last month.
During a brief hearing Friday morning, Harris found that Marshall and the union had “failed to establish any of the grounds for review” they had outlined to object to the release of the long-awaited report.
The Operation Richmond investigation began in 2018 and focused on a controversial enterprise agreement signed between the United Firefighters Association and the Andrews government in 2016.
Before the 2014 state election, which Labor won, the union instructed firefighters to campaign on behalf of Labor in marginal seat polls.
The then emergency services minister, Jane Garrett, who died in 2022, was responsible for negotiating the EBA with the UFU. But he left his post after then-prime minister Daniel Andrews intervened in negotiations and struck a deal with Marshall that gave the union unprecedented influence over the operations of the Country Fire Authority and led to an exodus of fire chiefs.
Marshall’s legal challenge was heard in a closed courtroom last month. Harris said on Friday that the reasons for her decision would similarly not be made public, given the extensive reference to the contents of IBAC’s Operation Richmond report.
The hearing will continue Friday afternoon to determine court orders for Harris’ decision to go into effect. Marshall and the UFU can still appeal the judge’s decision.
Be the first to know when important news happens. Sign up for breaking news alerts Turn on notifications in email or in the app.
Patrick Hatch is a transport correspondent for The Age and a former business correspondent.Connect with: X or email.
