Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has sacked Local Government Minister Adem Somyurek from his Cabinet, after Channel Nine aired allegations of branch stacking and a recording of him using offensive language about a ministerial colleague.
Key points:
- Mr Andrews said he had sacked Mr Somyurek and was seeking his expulsion from the Labor Party over the "shameful" comments
- He has also referred other matters raised by Channel Nine's report to Victoria Police and the corruption watchdog
- Mr Somyurek earlier said he had quit Cabinet and apologised "unequivocally" for the language he used
Nine's 60 Minutes program last night aired alleged recordings of the Labor powerbroker and Upper House MP in which he disparaged Gabrielle Williams, the Minister for Prevention of Family Violence.
Mr Somyurek said the recordings were of private conversations between him and a long-time friend and political ally, and he would be seeking a police investigation into the use of video footage secretly filmed from inside the Federal electorate office.
The program also aired allegations Mr Somyurek was involved in branch stacking, an allegation strenuously rejected by Mr Somyurek.
Branch stacking occurs when large groups of people are recruited to become members of a local political party branch and instructed on how to vote on key internal party decisions, including preselection for seats in Parliament.
At a press conference, Premier Daniel Andrews said he sacked Mr Somyurek at a 9:00am meeting and any suggestion he was given the opportunity to resign was "simply false".
"He is not worthy of an opportunity to resign. He was sacked. And that is the fact of the matter," he said.
"His conduct and his comments are completely deplorable, they are shameful and it is on that basis that there is no place in my Government for him."
In a statement, Ms Williams thanked the community for its support and said that Mr Somyurek's words would not "derail" efforts to prevent violence against women.
"Violent, misogynistic language perpetuates the attitudes and behaviours that enable a culture of violence against women," she said.
"Whether at home, in the street, at work or in the halls of Parliament, this language is unacceptable — when it does occur, it must be called out.
"Today and every day, this Government is working tirelessly to end violence against women and build a gender equal Victoria.
"Last night was another reminder of how important this work is, and how much work there is still left to do. Words spoken by one man will not derail this work."
Premier moves to expel MP from the Labor Party
Mr Andrews said he had instructed the Attorney-General Jill Hennessy to refer the allegations to both Victoria Police and the state's Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission.
He said he regarded Mr Somyurek as "no longer" a member of the Victorian Labor team, and he would write to the National Executive Committee of the Australian Labor Party seeking the termination of Mr Somyurek's party membership.
When asked whether there would be an internal review of allegations of branch stacking in the Labor Party, Mr Andrews said he had had "numerous conversations" with federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese and there would be "more to say about those matters soon".
"I am not necessarily announcing a review, I'll be announcing a number of steps that will deal with those issues," he said.
Mr Albanese said he agreed with Mr Andrews's move, and labelled Mr Somyurek's conduct "a corruption of the political process".
"It has no place in the Australian Labor Party," he said.
The National Executive Committee of the party will meet at 12:30pm today, where Mr Albanese said Mr Somyurek would be expelled.
"We'll be meeting to take immediate action against Mr Somyurek, and from that time he will not be a member of the Australian Labor Party," he said.
"The Labor Party will be a better party with the removal of this individual."
Mr Somyurek vows to mount 'rigorous defence' against branch-stacking claims
Mr Andrews said Mr Somyurek "offered no defence of his actions" when they met this morning.
"Nothing he could have said, nothing he could have done would have deterred me from the decisions I had made," he said.
Earlier, Mr Somyurek released a statement in which he said he had resigned from Cabinet but that he would put up a "rigorous defence" against any party process over the branch-stacking allegations:
This morning I advised the Premier of my resignation as a Minister.
It follows publication of numerous personal and private conversations between myself and a long term friend and factional ally of mine.
It is clear that I was taped and surveilled in a Federal electorate office without my knowledge and that this material was published without my knowledge of its existence or my consent.
I will be taking steps to seek a police investigation into these matters.
With respect to allegations made around memberships of the party, I reject those and will be providing a rigorous defence during any party process.
The conversations published without my knowledge or consent were with someone who I trusted about internal party matters.
There are many robust discussions that occur on any given day in the Labor Party across all factions.
However I accept and take full responsibility for the fact that my language on a number of occasions was simply not appropriate.
While Ms Williams and I have been at odds factionally for many years, I should not have used the language I did about her and I apologise to her unequivocally.
Further, I am deeply sorry for language I used regarding highly valued and exceptional young people who are members of the LGBTI community.
These comments have quite rightly cost me my job.
Mr Andrews said Essendon MP Danny Pearson would be sworn in as Local Government Minister to replace Mr Somyurek.
He said decisions made by Mr Somyurek as Local Government Minister would not be reviewed.
"The minister has taken forward positions endorsed by Cabinet. He has made a number of different positions pursuant to his role as minister," he said.
"I am not aware of any reason to go back over those or to be concerned about those."
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June 15, 2020 at 07:10AM
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Victorian Labor MP Adem Somyurek sacked from Cabinet after offensive language about colleague - ABC News
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