THE Legislative Council’s Privileges Committee has released a report into the misuse of electoral office entitlements, dubbed the “red shirt affair”, finding that while actions of some MPs affected the reputation of parliament, it did not meet the requisite standard to be considered contempt.
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The Privileges Committee was asked to prepare a report after the March Ombudsman’s report into the conduct of Labor parliamentarians and electoral officers during the 2014 state election campaign.
Earlier this month, police interviewed 17 staffers over their involvement in the so called rorts, including Buninyong Labor candidate Michaela Settle. No charges have so far been laid.
Police said on Thursday the investigation was still ongoing but would not comment further.
Privileges Committee chair James Purcell said: “We found that the conduct of the members in question does not constitute a contempt of parliament, even though in some cases the conduct was not up to the standard expected from members of parliament.
“The evidence we received confirms the observations of the Ombudsman that... the rules around the employment of electorate officers need to be overhauled.”
