Premier Ben Carroll and Treasurer Colin Brooks were reportedly approached to participate in the controversial “red shirts” scheme that misappropriated nearly $400,000 in public funds during the lead-up to the 2014 Victorian state election. The scheme involved diverting taxpayer money from electorate office staff salaries to campaign workers supporting the Australian Labor Party (ALP).
Details have emerged indicating that veteran Labor MP John Lenders, identified by the Victorian Ombudsman as the architect of the funding arrangement deemed an “artifice,” urged both Carroll and Brooks to join the initiative. According to sources, this lobbying took place during a group meeting intended to brief Labor MPs about the operation ahead of the November 2014 election, when Daniel Andrews led Labor to a decisive victory. Both Carroll, then a relatively new member of parliament, and Brooks declined involvement, reportedly expressing reservations about authorizing electorate office staff to engage in political campaign work.
The Victorian Labor government responded to inquiries by asserting that Carroll and Brooks had no involvement in the scandal and emphasizing that the matter had been comprehensively addressed, with Labor apologizing and reimbursing the misused funds. A government spokesperson stated that any suggestion to the contrary was incorrect.
The “red shirts” scheme, also known as Labor’s Community Action Network, employed field organizers to coordinate grassroots efforts and engage voters ahead of elections. The tactic was partly modeled on campaign strategies utilized during the 2012 U.S. presidential elections. Despite raids by Victoria Police and arrests of several individuals involved, no charges were ultimately filed.
An internal party email dated April 18, 2013, from Lenders to then-opposition leader Daniel Andrews, his chief of staff Brett Curran, and senior Labor MPs James Merlino and Gavin Jennings, was obtained. The email included a list of 25 MPs, including Carroll and Brooks, believed by some party insiders to relate to early planning for the red shirts campaign. Only six of those MPs later appeared in the Ombudsman’s official report, suggesting party leadership may have considered expanding the scheme to a broader group of members.
Former Labor MPs confirmed being pressured to participate in the scheme but refused, expressing discomfort with the approach despite being told it resembled traditional staff pooling practices. Andrews has consistently maintained that while he was aware of the Community Action Network, he was not aware of the misuse of public funds.
The 2022 Ombudsman report found no evidence that Andrews had knowledge of the fraudulent funding model, describing the scheme as primarily driven by Lenders and his electorate office. It also noted that Andrews did not cooperate fully with the inquiry.
The controversy surrounding the red shirts is part of a broader narrative concerning governance and accountability within Victoria’s Labor Party during Andrews’ tenure, including subsequent scandals investigated by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC). Despite public scrutiny, the ALP has maintained electoral support, prompting ongoing debate about the intersection of political success and ethical governance in the state.