The Victorian premier has accused the Labor opposition of mudslinging over corruption allegations against two of his Liberal party candidates for the state elections.
The Australian newspaper reported that the Liberal candidate for Cranbourne, Geoff Ablett, and the Liberal candidate for Narre Warren North, Amanda Stapledon, had been interviewed by the ombudsman’s office about donations and council planning decisions. A spokeswoman for the ombudsman would not confirm or deny the reports.
The premier, Denis Napthine, said the candidates were hard-working local people and voters could have every confidence in them.
“This is a typical Labor party mudslinging dirt exercise because they can’t compete on policy,” he said on Thursday.
He would not say whether the ombudsman was investigating
Ablett and Stapledon are standing in Labor-held seats, with the election only 23 days away.
Other senior Liberals defended the pair and claimed the allegations were part of a Labor-led “dirty tricks campaign”.
The Liberal state director, Damien Mantach, said Ablett and Stapledon had done nothing wrong. “These allegations are part of an outrageous and despicable smear campaign by our political opponents, trying to bring down two Liberal party candidates,” he said.
“In recent weeks we’ve seen a coordinated attack on Liberal party candidates, particularly in Melbourne’s south-west. Victorians deserve better than gutter politics and dirty tricks.”
Party campaign offices had been destroyed and vandalised, Mantach said, as photos of the defaced office of the state member for Mordialloc, Lorraine Wreford, came to light.
The state treasurer, Michael O’Brien, said on Thursday morning that “anyone” could make a corruption allegation. “The question is what comes at the end of it,” he said.
He said the Liberal party had full confidence in Ablett and Stapledon. “All donations go through the party organisation, not through individuals,” he said.
But the deputy opposition leader, James Merlino, called on the premier to answer “serious questions”. “These are very serious allegations that the Liberal party has been aware of for months,” he told Guardian Australia.
“Denis Napthine must answer serious questions about what he knows, and whether he has discussed these allegations with his candidates. Does he have confidence in them and can we expect them to run in the election?”
The Liberal party has released an ad attacking the opposition leader, Daniel Andrews, describing him as “an unknown man trying to hide his past”.
