It has been dubbed Western Australia’s worst roundabout and authorities say traffic lights will not fix it.
Key points:
A roundabout in Albany tops the list of worst intersections in regional WA
Main Roads says traffic lights are not an option for the major roundabout
South-west roads dominate the list of the worst roads in regional WA
A survey of WA drivers by peak motoring body RAC WA found the intersection of Albany Highway and Chester Pass Road in the south coast city of Albany was the riskiest in regional WA.
The “big roundabout” topped the poll of more than 10,000 drivers for the worst junction for the second time.
Respondents said a confusing layout made the busy roundabout, which joins five roads, difficult to negotiate.
Main Roads Great Southern manager Andrew Duffield.(ABC Great Southern: John Dobson)
The RAC recommends traffic lights for the roundabout, which would be the first installed in Albany.
Main Roads Great Southern regional manager Andrew Duffield said over five years there had been 180 crashes at the roundabout, with 91 per cent property damage only.
“The roundabout is one of the busiest intersections in the state, carrying 50,000 vehicles per day,” he said.
“If you do have a crash, that’s typically a property-damage-only crash.”
Mr Duffield said it would be difficult to install traffic lights at the intersection and Main Roads had no plans to do so.
“Traffic signals are not a suitable solution at this instruction due to the limited stacking distance available within this roundabout,” he said.
Tourist highway named worst
South Western Highway between Bunbury and Walpole was listed as the worst section of road due to narrow roads, lanes and bridges, lack of overtaking lanes, and tight curves and blind bends.
Three of the top 10 worst intersections were listed on the busy Forrest Highway, which links Perth with the South West region.
RAC WA spokesperson Will Golsby said the survey would help amplify calls for improved safety on regional roads.
“Someone is killed or seriously injured on our roads every five hours,” he said.
“More than 60 per cent of the state’s road fatalities occur in regional WA, despite it being home to just 20 per cent of the population.”
Rail commuters in Queensland’s south-east face the most significant shake-up in decades after the state government outlined several route changes to integrate the $5.4 billion Cross River Rail network launch in 2025.
Key points:
South-east Queensland railway lines will be redrawn into three sectors that connect at Roma Street
Existing rail lines will be shifted to reconnect at new or upgraded stations
The Cross River Rail network is due to be in place well before Brisbane’s 2032 Olympic Games
State Transport Minister Mark Bailey said the planned changes amounted to a “brand new network”.
“This network will be a change for Queenslanders, but it will open the door for future investment and time-saving timetable changes to help Queenslanders get home sooner and safer,” he said.
Under the plan, south-east Queensland trains will operate in three sections, all connecting at the existing or new underground Roma Street stations.
Existing rail lines will be shifted to reconnect at new or upgraded stations — significantly altering how residents on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast access Brisbane.
A map for the new network that is expected to be operational from 2025.(Supplied: Queensland government)
Sector One will connect the Gold and Sunshine Coasts directly, operating trains from Varsity Lakes and Beenleigh through to Redcliffe Peninsula, Nambour and Gympie.
Sector Two will link the Rosewood and Springfield lines through Central to the domestic airport and Shorncliffe.
Sector Three will run Ferny Grove trains through Central and Southbank to Cleveland.
Suburban services to shift
The new rail plan will shift multiple suburban services, splitting the Ferny Grove line from the Beenleigh line, placing the airport spur along the Ipswich line, and extending the Doomben line from Roma Street to Indooroopilly.
In a major shift, commuters on the Beenleigh and Gold Coast lines will need to change at Boggo Road or Roma Street to access South Brisbane stations and Central station in the CBD.
The Gold Coast and Beenleigh lines will instead travel through the city via Albert Street, Woolloongabba and Boggo Road.
The underground station at Boggo Road is taking shape.(Supplied: Cross River Rail)
Another line will run between Boggo Road and the newly upgraded Exhibition station at Bowen Hills.
Travelers from Ipswich and Rosewood will also need to switch trains in the city to connect to northbound Sunshine Coast services.
future and legacy
The 10.2km underground Cross River Rail project will run from Dutton Park to Bowen Hills, with nearly 6 kilometers of tunnels cut under Brisbane River and new underground stations at Roma Street, Albert Street, Woolloongabba and Boggo Road.
“More than 80,000 people migrated to Queensland in the past two years, and this investment shows we are at full throttle, planning, building and delivering a world-class rail network for the state,” Mr Bailey said.
“The new network we build now will be the network Queensland kids and Olympic-goers will remember.”
An artistic impression of the Cross River Rail design for Roma Street Station.(Supplied: Queensland government)
The planned network will be in place several years before the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games, and was kickstarted in 2019 by south-east Queensland mayors who called for better-connected rail and public transport infrastructure across the region.
Mr Bailey said the government’s rail investment also included a $6 million planning study for the Direct Sunshine Coast line, a $2.5 million corridor study for a line connecting the booming city of Springfield to Ipswich, and a $20 million Salisbury to Beaudesert business case.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers and others in Labor have refused to consider an extension due to the budget impact.
In response to Mr Dutton, Mr Albanese accused him of a policy about face.
“I point to the fact that he was in the cabinet that put together the budget. It had the end date for the measure he talks about,” he said.
Last week, shadow treasurer Angus Taylor gave the first hint of a backflip.
“We support the government coming up with a plan,” he said when asked about an extension.
“They are ultimately in government. I have suggested some of the things that they can do to put together a coherent plan to respond.”
A Coalition source said an extension was supported until oil, which was $US103 a barrel on Monday, came down, “and Ukraine is resolved”.
A senior Labor source said the plan remained to restore the excise in full on September 28, and not seek an alternative, such as phasing it back in or freezing the indexation of excise.
Ten days ago, Mr Taylor and opposition finance spokesman Jane Hume doubled down on the post-election commitment to embrace fiscal conservatism after the big-spending pandemic years.
“Liberals and Nationals are naturally fiscally conservative,” Senator Hume said.
“The last couple of years have been a big leap of faith for us to ensure we could get to the other side of COVID.
“Now the focus must be on budget repair because that’s the only way that fiscally we can reduce inflation.”
The petrol switch comes at the start of what could be a torrid week for the Coalition with the lower house to vote on Labor’s bill to legislate its climate-change targets.
Moderates remain unhappy that Mr Dutton declared his party would oppose the legislation before there was a chance to discuss it.
The legislation will lock in net-zero emissions by 2050 and a 43 per cent reduction in emissions over 2005 levels by 2030.
The shadow cabinet was expected to formally declare its opposition to the legislation on Monday night and the Coalition party room will do the same on Tuesday.
There is expected to be some dissent from moderates, although many are consoling themselves by noting Labor’s own admission that the legislation is not necessary, and it can enact the policy regardless without making any fundamental concessions for the Greens.
Mr Taylor noted the Coalition government had “smashed” its targets without the need for legislation which, he said, would encourage environmental legal activism.
“The legislation does harm. We’ve seen it in other countries,” he said.
The Greens want the government to outlaw all new coal and gas projects in return for their support, but the government has ruled that out.
Australian Workers Union national secretary Daniel Walton rounded on the suggestion when opening the AWU’s national conference in Sydney on Monday, saying blue-collar workers stood to suffer the most.
“The scientific reality of climate change – and government and investor action – is driving the decarbonisation of our heavy industries,” he said.
“I know some institutions and activists are calling for divestment of Australian carbon-intensive assets.
“Some Greens party extremists are even calling for the complete banning of all new coal and gas projects.
“Now I know there are environmentalists and their political mouthpieces in parliament.
“I know they’re perfectly happy to push all Australian blue-collar workers off the ledge of their lofty ivory towers. We can’t let them.”
Sky News Australia hosts Andrew Bolt and Chris Kenny have clashed in a heated debate over the government’s Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
Kenny – a member of the senior advisory group that guided the Indigenous Voice co-design process – appeared on The Bolt Report on Monday night and told his fellow primetime host that allowing First Nations people to have their say on how to combat Indigenous disadvantage would give them “a fair go”.
“We want to overcome indigenous disadvantage because we have no mechanism for those indigenous Australians to actually have their say,” Kenny said.
“To tell us what they think will help redress health outcomes or employment outcomes or domestic violence in remote communities”
“We ought to allow those people to have a say. It’s a fair go.”
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But Bolt fired back and said it was “more than a fair go” pointing to the proportion of indigenous MPs in Parliament.
Of the 11 parliamentarians who identify as Indigenous there are three lower house MPs – Jana Stewart, Marion Scrymgour and Dr Gordon Reid – and seven Senators – Pat Dodson, Malarndirri McCarthy, Linda Burney, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, Jacqui Lambie, Kerrynne Liddle, Dorinda Cox and Lydia Thorpe.
While Kenny said it was not “relevant”, Bolt replied by suggesting Voice would serve as a “separate parliament”.
“Nope. It’s not a separate parliament it’s an advisory body,” Kenny responded.
The Labor Government pushed the issue to the center of its agenda when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared on election night that there would be a referendum in his first term.
The Voice to Parliament was a key element of the 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart and called for an elected Indigenous advisory body to the Federal Parliament.
The proposed body would advise the government on issues affecting First Nations people.
Bolt said the Voice would set up a “false dichotomy” and establish race as the defining difference between Australians.
“It stresses its race as the primary difference between us which I think is false, wrong and dangerous,” he said.
Kenny responded by saying that Indigenous Australians are the most disadvantaged people in the country.
“Now there is all sorts of complex reason for that but it is a national shame that their life expectancy is shorter,” he said.
“They are much less likely to finish school, to get an education, to get a job and we all want that.
“And I believe that requires some special attention from government.”
Power lines are down, trees uprooted, fences destroyed and traffic lights out across Perth and the South West amid gale force winds and heavy rain overnight.
Emergency services have been stretched to the limit as they respond to multiple calls for help — including one person who was trapped in their car early Tuesday morning after they drove over failed power lines in Midland.
More than 32,000 homes are without power, with blackouts stretching from Two Rocks down to Pemberton.
DFES received more than 186 calls for help overnight, with a spokesperson confirming the main incidents were in the metro area.
A large tree has fallen onto Melville Parade in Como, blocking traffic. Credit: Paul Entwistle/Twitter
Those without power can expect to wait several hours until it is restored with Western Power warning repairs will be “delayed” due to the challenging weather conditions.
Described by the Bureau of Meteorology WA as an eleven-in-a-year storm, a strong cold front smashed the south-western corner of the State on Monday and into the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Police responded to more than seven storm-related incidents on Tuesday morning, including the Midland incident which is still unfolding. Western Power and DFES are also responding.
In Gooseberry Hill, a tree fell on a house bringing it with it power lines that have covered parts of the road. There have also been multiple crashes.
Gale force winds ripped off the Big W sign at Belmont Forum. Credit: daniel wilkins/The West Australian
Riverside Drive has been closed due to flooding, from Victoria Avenue to Barrack Street and Main Roads WA has warned motorists traveling into the city to allow for extra travel time.
Main Roads WA have alerted motorists that several traffic lights are down across Morley, Menora, Balga, Langford, Ferndale, and Rockingham and urged drivers to slow down and give way to the right.
The Bureau of Meteorology released a statement Tuesday morning stating the “series of strong cold fronts” will continue across the State until Wednesday.
“Thunderstorms and gale force winds exceeding 90km/h are expected for parts of the region,” the statement read.
“This weather system is expected to be windier and longer lasting than a typical front and is likely to produce the kind of weather that is only seen about once per year.”
Two large trees have been ripped from their roots during the storm overnight. Credit: Tracy Brownell/Facebook
Cape Leeuwin recorded a dangerous wind gust of 137km/h on Monday night, while Bickley recorded a gusty 117km/h on Tuesday morning.
Cape Naturaliste recorded 111km/h winds, Gingin Airport 109km/h, Shark Bay airport 107km/h, and the Busselton Jetty 100km/h.
As the cold fronts move through, heavy rains and thunderstorms are drenching the Perth area, with the metro region recording 44mm of rainfall.
A tree comes down during the night crashing onto a patio roof in Mundaring. Credit: Cherie Ward/Facebook
Gooseberry Hill copped to 43.8mm soaking, while coastal Swanbourne recorded 39.2mm.
In the South-West, areas including Bunbury recorded 61.6mm of rain, while 30.9mm hit the rain gauge in Albany.
Emergency WA have kept their severe weather warning alert in place, stating damaging gale-force winds could cause damage to homes and make travel dangerous.
“If outside find safe shelter away from trees, powerlines, storm water drains and streams,” the warning read.
“Close your curtains and blinds, and stay inside away from windows.
“If there is flooding, create your own sandbags by using pillow cases filled with sand and place them around doorways to protect your home.”
Multiple trees and power lines have been blown down during the storm along O’Connor Road in Mahogany Creek. Credit: Tamzin Scott/Facebook
Surfers are also advised to stay out of the water on Tuesday with dangerous swell expected.
“A vigorous westerly flow with embedded cold fronts will drive the development of large and powerful waves that will continue through Tuesday and Wednesday,” DFES said.
“Sustained heavy surf to develop along parts of the coast exposed to the West-Southwest from late Monday night, with the potential for significant coastal erosion.
“Significant wave heights exceeding 7 meters are expected in exposed locations.”
Two crucifixes were found in a Canterbury apartment where Saudi sisters Asra Abdullah Alsehli, 24, and Amaal Abdullah Alsehli, 23, were found dead in June, a worker with access to the apartment has told the ABC.
The discovery was made after the women’s bodies were removed.
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The worker told the ABC that the crucifixes were found on the floor of one of the bedrooms.
The ABC could not independently corroborate this claim.
It’s unclear whether the discovery of the crosses was a sign that the sisters had renounced Islam and converted to Christianity or whether they were using them as a disguise.
No signs of forced entry
In June, the bodies of the women were found naked and in separate beds.
This prompted the apartment’s building manager Michael Baird to dismiss suicide as a potential cause of death.
“Two young women do not commit suicide together unless they’re doing it together. They don’t get naked, they don’t go to separate rooms, they don’t die separately,” he said.
Police say they have not yet ruled out homicide or suicide as their investigations continue.
A worker, who accessed the apartment after the police had made the grim discovery, said the sisters’ bodies were found in a state of decomposition.
Last month, tradespeople entered the apartment to replace the flooring.
One told the ABC that the apartment still “has the smell of dead bodies.”
The sisters are thought to have been dead for over a month before a sheriff was called at the behest of their landlord, as the girls were behind on rent payments. This sheriff made the discovery and called the police.
After locating the bodies, police said there were no obvious signs of injury or forced entry although they have called the deaths “unusual.”
They are waiting on the results of postmortem examinations and toxicology tests.
In a press conference last week, the NSW Police released images of the two women and published their names, as they launched a community appeal for any information about the women’s movements.
Burwood Police Station has now established Strike Force Woolbird to investigate the circumstances surrounding their deaths.
The apartment block in Canterbury in Sydney’s western suburbs where two Saudi women were found dead in June 2022. (ABC RN: Brendan Esposito)
living in fear
The ABC has confirmed that the sisters had applied for a protection visa with the Department of Home Affairs, and they had been in contact with a settlement service for refugees.
Michael Baird, a director of Sydney’s Transparent FM Building Management which manages the Canterbury apartment block, said he was aware that the young women were concerned about their safety.
In a January 2022 email sent to the site manager, younger sister Amaal asked if building management could check the security cameras as she feared someone had tampered with a recent food delivery order.
“I think the girls were very, very scared. Very afraid of something. And we’re not sure whether it was something or someone, they didn’t tell us,” Mr Baird said.
Mr Baird said his first interaction with the women had taken place earlier this yearwhen their car had been “keyed”.
“We believed that it was not a personal attack on them because they’d parked their car in an unusual position. And somebody’s obviously taken offense to it,” Mr Baird said, about the incident.
His second interaction with the women was when he organized for a plumber to visit their apartment.
“When [the plumber] came out of that unit, he said that he was concerned that there was something untoward happening in the apartment. He got a very bad vibe,” Mr Baird said.
“He was pretty shaken up. He said, ‘I’m never coming back to that apartment again’.”
Mr Baird asked the local site manager to contact the police at the time and he understood that the women had subsequently told police they were fine.
Mr Baird has not been contacted by the police for a statement.
Another building worker told the ABC that he knew that the women had noticed a man watching their apartment from across the street.
The worker, who is familiar with the building’s residents, said he’d also seen an unknown Middle Eastern man inside the building on two occasions in the months leading up to the sisters’ death.
The building worker said when he asked the man which apartment he was from, the man gave the women’s address.
‘really good people’
The sisters arrived in Australia from Saudi Arabia in 2017.
They lived in Sydney’s western suburbs for about eighteen months with their friend Rita, while they attended the local TAFE.
“[Amaal and Asra] we were just really good people. They did nothing harmful,” Rita said.
“They moved to this house because it was like closer to their TAFE. And they usually stayed up all night and only slept in the morning.”
She said the women worked in construction. They had applied for an ABN in 2018, and were registered as sole traders.
Rita said the sisters’ mother had visited Australia on one occasion.
“Their mum came here once. She didn’t like it. Then she went back to her country,” Rita said.
The young women led a discreet life. They didn’t have many visitors, apart from a man Rita believed to be Asra’s boyfriend, an “Iraqi man with a beard”.
Early in 2020, after they’d lived with Rita for about 18 months, the sisters decided to move out.
They moved into the Canterbury apartment in November 2021.
At the time of publication, Rita said the police had not interviewed her or her family.
A Home Affairs departmental spokesperson told the ABC: “The Department does not comment on individual cases.”
Since 2017, 86 women from Saudi Arabia applied for permanent protection in Australia and 75 were granted a permanent protection visa.
This story has been updated from an earlier version to clarify who found the women’s bodies.
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He said only one person within his party had him to consider his role and that Premier Dominic Perrottet had not asked him to stand down. “He has been really supportive through this whole exercise,” Ayres said.
When 2GB host Ben Fordham asked Ayres if he acknowledged his job was on the line, the minister said: “I think yeah, you should absolutely see that.”
“I think there’s a lot of publicity around this issue. I’ve always acted in the best interests of the people of NSW, I think the [independent Graeme] Head review will show that,” he said.
“If the Head review shows that I’ve not done the right thing then I don’t think my position would be tenable. But I don’t believe that’s the case… I’ve done my role as a minister here and I think the Head review will show that.”
The premier has also said he was not prepared to discuss the matter until he received the independent review from former public service commissioner Graeme Head.
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A separate upper house parliamentary inquiry into Barilaro’s appointment will summarize on Wednesday with a return appearance of Investment NSW boss Amy Brown, who Ayres repeated on Tuesday was the ultimate decision-maker.
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NSW Trade Minister Stuart Ayres has gone on radio in an attempt to defend his role in John Barilaro’s appointment to a lucrative $500,000 posting in New York.
Ayres has come under increased scrutiny in recent days after a cache of internal documents revealed he helped develop a candidate shortlist with department boss Amy Brown.
NSW Trade Minister Stuart Ayres. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer
The trade minister told 2GB only one person within his own party had asked him to stand aside after the revelations and said he had the “full support” of NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet.
“He has been really supportive through this whole exercise,” he said.
As previously reported, documents have revealed that Ayres texted Barilaro an advertisement of the trade role he was subsequently appointed to. But the trade minister has insisted he told the former NSW deputy premier that he would need to apply as a private citizen.
This morning, Ayres said if he could go back in time he would tell Barilaro it would be too politically sensitive for him to apply for the role.
“I would love to be able to go back and say to him, you probably shouldn’t do this, but it still would have been his call and he still, regardless of what you have taken place, [he] should be afforded the right to apply for a role which is available to anyone in the community,” he said.
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Meanwhile, Ayres said he is confident the ongoing parliamentary inquiry into the matter will show he acted in the “best interest of the public”.
I added that it wasn’t Barilaro’s decision to create the $500,000 trade posting in New York. Instead, he said the state government decided it wanted to form the role “a long time ago”.
“Having just been on a trade mission, I’ve seen the full benefits of this with having good quality people in these roles. But when John Barilaro decided that he was going to leave parliament, he was a private citizen.
“He was able to make an application for a job. It wasn’t going to be a decision that was going to be a political decision.”
When asked whether he believed he would survive the controversy, Ayres said he was adamant he had acted in good faith throughout the process.
“I’m confident that I’ve always acted in the best interest of the public.”
Extra warning signs should be installed at a popular lookout and selfie spot in Victoria’s Grampians National Park where a woman fell to her death, a coroner has found.
Key points:
Rosy Loomba had finished taking a selfie with her husband at Boroka Lookout when she fell
Deputy state coroner Jacqui Hawkins found extra safety warnings could prevent similar deaths happening in the future
She said Ms Loomba’s death was “a reminder of the dangers” associated with ignoring safety mechanisms
Rosy Loomba, 38, was taking a photo at the Boroka Lookout — nicknamed “selfie rock” — when she fell to her death on December 12, 2020.
Ms Loomba had traveled with her family from Craigieburn in Melbourne’s north to the park for a picnic.
Deputy State Coroner Jacqui Hawkins found Ms Loomba and her husband had been taking photos after climbing an “easily scaled” fence surrounding the lookout.
Ms Loomba turned to walk back when she lost her balance and fell over.
“Mr Loomba jumped down to her and tried to pull her back up but was unable to reach her hand,” the coroner said in findings handed down on Monday.
“He held onto her legs and her clothing but was unable to grasp her. Mrs Loomba fell over the edge.”
About 30 people were at the lookout and there was a small queue of people waiting to have their photo taken at the time.
Victoria Police later investigated the incident and found it was a “tragic accident,” Ms Hawkins said.
The coroner accepted the opinion of a forensic pathologist who found the cause of death was multiple injuries sustained in a fall from a height.
Boroka Lookout is one of the most popular spots in the Grampians.(Supplied: Visit Grampians)
The coronial inquest found there was noticeable damage to the fence surrounding the lookout, likely caused by people standing on the wires to scale the fence.
“Parks Victoria provided a copy of the asset review for the Boroka Lookout area as of 23 June 2020, which did not identify the loose wires in the wire fencing,” Ms Hawkins found.
“I consider this to be a minor structural issue of the fencing in this area and am not of the view that it contributed to Mrs Loomba climbing over the fence or her subsequent fall.”
The coroner noted Parks Victoria had already added additional safety signage earlier this year in response to a death at that same lookout in 1999.
“Despite this earlier recommendation, I am of the view that extra signage could be added to this area to prevent such deaths occurring in the future,” she wrote in her findings.
“I note that adventurers and park attendees may continue to climb fences to access lookouts in order to get a photo or for their own curiosity.
“Mrs Loomba’s death is a reminder of the dangers associated with ignoring signage and fencing which is put in place to keep people safe.”
When asked about the contract, a spokesman for Guy said: “No such agreement (or any similar agreement) was entered into.”
Guy’s office did not answer detailed questions on what actions “supporting business interests” would require, and The Age was unable to identify the precise nature of the service.
The opposition leader’s office also declined to answer questions about whether the proposal could have been constructed as a donation; if the proposed payments may have breached a code of conduct for opposition staff; or if Catlin or his business from him were currently receiving any other payments from donors.
If the plan had gone ahead, Catlin’s private business would have begun invoicing the donor from September 7, 2021, until the end of this year, with a total estimated value of about $125,000.
In addition, Catlin requested the fee increase to $20,833 a month for four months after the state election if the Coalition was unsuccessful in November, potentially bringing the value of the overall contract to more than $195,000. The Coalition would gain a larger budget for staff if it won government.
“Fees payable by the company will be $8,333 plus GST per month until 31 December 2022,” the proposed contract said. “Additional payments, on the agreed amount of $20,833 plus GST per month, until 30 April 2023, will only occur if the Liberal Party does not win the election.”
It is not known what salary Catlin earns as chief of staff, although a source familiar with opposition staffing arrangements said his base salary would be about $140,000 a year.
University of Melbourne integrity expert Professor Jee-Cheong Tham said if the proposal had gone ahead, it could have been argued that it constituted a donation because the Liberal Party was the main beneficiary. Victorian donation laws passed in 2018 require donations above $1050 to be disclosed and limit donations from individuals or organizations to $4210 over four years.
Tham said if the proposal had resulted in a genuine commercial exchange, then questions would be asked about the meaning of “supporting business interests”.
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“If, on the other hand, the agreement did not involve a genuine commercial exchange, then it may be a political donation under Victorian electoral laws,” he said. “Should the agreement have involved a political donation to the Liberal Party, then that would have breached the legislated [$4210] donation chap.”
Integrity in government will be a central issue at the November election and both the Coalition and the Greens are attempting to cast the Andrews government as unethical after a recent report from the anti-corruption commissioner and the ombudsman into Labor’s culture.
On Sunday, Guy announced new policies to increase funding to integrity agencies and weed out politicization and corruption in the public service, but the emergence of a plan to secure payments to his top adviser is likely to attract scrutiny from Labor.
Several experts on integrity and political donations told The Age the proposed contract raised integrity questions for the opposition.
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Opposition staff are employed under the Public Administration Act, but there is no legislated code of conduct covering their employment.
Dr Catherine Williams, a research director at the Center for Public Integrity, said the lack of a legislated code of conduct for parliamentary advisers in the opposition “is a gaping hole in Victoria’s integrity framework”.
Liberal sources told The Age that if the opposition leader has a code of conduct for his staff, there is no requirement for it to be made public.
The Age asked a spokesman for Guy’s office whether the arrangements discussed in the leaked documents would have breached any code in force, but no response was provided.
Ministerial staff in the Andrews government are subject to a code of conduct, which states: “Ministerial staff must have no involvement in outside paid employment or in the daily work of any business, or retain a directorship, without the written agreement of the premier’s chief of staff.”
In September 2021, Guy hired marketing expert Catlin to head up his office after toppling Michael O’Brien for the party’s leadership.
Before working for Guy, Catlin ran the Catchy Media Marketing and Management company, whose clients included basketballer Liz Cambage, former swimmer Geoff Huegill and rugby player James O’Connor.
A former television journalist and regular in tabloid gossip pages, Catlin transitioned to public relations and marketing in 2005 and had high-profile roles at Myer, where he worked closely with model Jennifer Hawkins, and Swiss vitamins.
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