Liberal Party Crisis Meeting at Parliament . Premier Ted Baillieu walks out of the meeting Picture: Andrew Tauber Source: Herald Sun
LIBERAL heavyweights have emerged from a partyroom crisis meeting scheduled to discuss Premier Ted Baillieu's handling of the police tapes.
As he left the meeting at Parliament this morning, Mr Baillieu said he was confident he would still be leader come the 2014 November state election.
"We don't talk about what we discuss in the party room," he said.
"I don't know what commentary has been made but we are working together."
Other MPs left the meeting without speaking.
Earlier, Treasurer Kim Wells sought to ease concerns that the premier's job was under threat while Planning Minister Matthew Guy, who is widely considered a potential future leader, also voiced support for Mr Baillieu.
He dismissed suggestions the Liberal party was in crisis and said he was not interested in challenging for the leadership.
"I wake up to free character assessments all the time and I think I have enough of those in my current job, I don't think I really want to expand it."
Mr Guy said this morning's Liberal Party meeting was not unusual.
"The Liberal Parliamentary party meets every second week on a Parliamentary sitting week at 8.30am and that's what we're doing this morning as a regular meeting."
Liberal Party Crisis Meeting at Parliament .Deputy Premier Peter Ryan walks into the meeting with Premier Ted Baillieu in the background Picture: Andrew Tauber
Last night, MPs - including Cabinet ministers - were in open despair at Mr Baillieu's handling of the secret audio.
One minister said the situation was "politically unsustainable".
"You can't have the Premier's office being investigated by IBAC," the minister said.
Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott today threw his weight behind Mr Baillieu.
“I like Ted Baillieu, I’ve worked with Ted Baillieu. I believe he is a man of great integrity and a man of honour. When he became aware of these issues, he referred them on,” Mr Abbott said in Melbourne.
Ted Baillieu fronts the media to respond to explosive material published in the Herald Sun. Picture: Chris Scott
Mr Baillieu fronted the media yesterday to say he was referring the explosive material published in the Herald Sun to the state's anti-corruption commission.
"In terms of the matters that were raised today, I was unaware of these conversations," he said.
Mr Baillieu said the recordings raised questions about his chief of staff Tony Nutt, Liberal Party state director Damien Mantach and Deputy Premier Peter Ryan's former adviser, Tristan Weston.
"I am unaware of the details of those conversations until today (sic) conversations I was unaware of, in detail, other than being aware that Mr Nutt, in his role, had had conversations with Mr Weston," Mr Baillieu said.
It came after a day of silence from the Government following the revelations that Mr Nutt had promised to find Mr Weston work - after Mr Weston quit in the wake of an OPI report into the split between top cops Simon Overland and Sir Ken Jones - and that Mr Mantach authorised $22,500 to be paid to Mr Weston.
Mr Baillieu did not stand aside Mr Nutt pending a possible Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission inquiry, or criticise the $22,500 payment.
"I have great confidence in Tony Nutt," he said.
Liberal Party sources said there was widespread anger against Mr Mantach for authorising the payment, apparently without informing the party's administration committee.
The Herald Sun has been told the Cabinet meeting discussed the crisis in detail, but Mr Baillieu did not inform his ministers that he planned to refer material involving the most senior member of his office to the IBAC.
Earlier in the day rumours spread through the Liberal Party that a move could be made against Mr Baillieu's leadership as early as this morning.
Senior MPs said that while rumours were rife, no one at this point was planning a move against Mr Baillieu.
But one backbencher described the atmosphere as "extremely volatile" and a Cabinet minister said it was not beyond possibility that Mr Baillieu would be "tapped on the shoulder" by the end of the week.
Another minister said there had been plenty of chatter after the Herald Sun stories and a poor Newspoll published in The Australian.
Mr Baillieu said he would not comment on polls, but the information revealed about his chief of staff's conversations was a "matter of public importance".
"I am writing today to the IBAC commissioner to provide him with the information that appears in the Herald Sun ... in regard to Mr Nutt, Mr Mantach and Mr Weston, so that he can consider whether there is a need to assess this information," Mr Baillieu said.
"I haven't listened to the tapes and I haven't read all the transcripts."
The Herald Sun can reveal new tapes on which former police deputy commissioner Sir Ken Jones complains of his treatment by Mr Overland to the Deputy Premier's staffer.
Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews said the revelations were astounding and raised new questions about Deputy Premier Ryan.
He said it was hard to believe Mr Weston acted alone, while the Premier's chief of staff was "off trying to find sweetheart deals, and organise payment of hush money to Tristan Weston".
10 QUESTIONS THE BAILLIEU GOVERNMENT MUST ANSWER
1. How can the Premier's office function with its most senior employee under investigation by the state's anti-corruption body?
2. How could Premier Ted Baillieu not have known about the promises Mr Nutt was making to Mr Weston?
3. Does Mr Baillieu think the offers being made to Mr Weston by Mr Nutt of assistance in fi nding a job were appropriate?
4. Why was Mr Nutt not stood aside pending the IBAC inquiry?
5. Can the public have any confidence in the powers of IBAC to investigate, given Mr Nutt's claims that the Government enforced “checks” on IBAC to ensure it did not ruin people's reputations?
6. Did Peter Ryan lie to the public, the OPI or the Parliament over what he knew about Tristan Weston's actions?
7. Was the $22,500 paid to Tristan Weston designed to buy his silence?
8. Were any taxpayer funds used to pay out Mr Weston's contract, given Mr Nutt's pledge to explore “some mechanisms” for him?
9. Why did Mr Nutt tell Mr Weston that if everything died down, Premier Ted Baillieu would offer Mr Weston's friend Bill Tilley a return to the job of parliamentary secretary?
10. Why was the payment of $22,500 to Mr Weston kept secret from the Liberal Party's administration committee?
- with Michelle Ainsworth
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