The Auditor-General has today blown the whistle on Labor’s careless wasteful spending surrounding its mismanaged COVID-19 response, leaving Victoria’s economic recovery at risk.
In the VAGO report, the Auditor-General concluded without strong processes, departments cannot be certain that material fraud or corruption did not occur.
The report found “not all departments effectively managed their spending leading to waste in some instances”.
The Auditor-General singled out the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the Department of Jobs Precincts and Regions (DJPR) saying they “did not put in place effective fraud controls... Although they later tried to improve controls, an internal review found DJPR still had gaps that risked fraud and waste.”
The Auditor-General also concluded “this made it difficult for the Department of Treasury and Finance (DTF) to gain an accurate picture of whole-of-government COVID-19 spending”.
Victorians are being let down by Labor’s unpreparedness and with constant waste and mismanagement, how can it possibly manage the state’s recovery?
The report comes on the same day the Andrews Labor Government voted to block the re-establishment of an inquiry to investigation its COVID-19 management response.
Comments attributable to Shadow Treasurer, David Davis:
“The Andrews Labor Government’s careless mismanagement around COVID-19 spending has left Victorians exposed to waste, fraud and corruption.
“Labor cannot be trusted with Victorian taxpayers’ hard-earned cash.
“The money Daniel Andrews and Labor wasted is money that is now unavailable to help kick-start Victoria’s economic recovery after the world’s longest lockdown.”
Comments attributable to Shadow Minister for Health, Georgie Crozier:
“VAGO’s report today raises enormous concerns about the processes undertaken by the Department of Health, including that it could not be certain fraud or corruption did not occur.
“The Auditor-General has further exposed the unpreparedness by the Andrews Labor Government and huge waste that has occurred.”