Adem Somyurek, Victoria’s Minister for Local Government and Small Business has been sacked by Premier Dan Andrews following accusations that he was responsible for branch stacking and making a series of derogatory comments that have been described as homophobic and sexist.
A report from The Age Newspaper and television program 60 Minutes aired covert recordings and footage which appeared to show the minister paying thousands of dollars, and using tax payer funded employees to create fake branch members and amass political influence within the Australian Labor Party.
The recording also showed Somyurek describing Young Labor members as “little passive aggressive fucking gay kids”, gay staffers as “slimy little fuckers” and colleague Gabrielle Williams as a “stupid, stupid moll”.
Footage aired on the program also allegedly shows the minister withdrawing thousands of dollars to pay for the creation of fake memberships, passing the money to the staffer of another MP to undertake the forgery, the staff member is later seen to take the money to the party’s headquarters.
This morning Victorian Premier Dan Andrews said he had called the minister to his office at 9am this morning and told him he was sacked. The Premier said he had also written to party officials asking for Somyurek to be thrown out of the Labor party. The Premier said the actions shown in program were “deplorable” and he had requested police and anti-corruption officials to look into the minister’s actions.
In a statement on Monday morning claiming he had quit the ministry, Somyurek said he rejected claims of branch stacking and would be “providing a rigorous defence during any party process”. The politician apologised for his language towards his colleagues and said he was “deeply sorry” for the way he talked about the the LGBTI community.
“I am deeply sorry for language I used regarding highly valued and exceptional young people who are members of the LGBTI community.” Somyurek said in a statement.
The MP also raised concern that he was recorded without his knowledge, which is an an offense in Victoria.
“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.”
OIP Staff
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