A federal Labor MP’s offensive texts were released to the press last night after secret footage from his office featured in a TV show that got one of his colleagues sacked.
In the private text messages, backbencher Anthony Byrne said he wanted to ‘p**s on the corpse’ of former federal Labor MP Alan Griffin, called a female politician a ‘drunk’ and described a female Labor activist as a ‘ratf***er’.
The messages were released by former Victorian minister Adem Somyurek who was sacked on Monday after a 60 Minutes investigation accused him of recruiting party members to influence internal elections, a practice known as branch-stacking, which he denies.
The show aired secret phone recordings and CCTV footage of the former minister allegedly plotting the operation, including a section filmed in Mr Byrne’s electorate office which Mr Somyurek believes was set up by rivals to get him sacked.
Viewers could see whose office it was because the footage showed a map of Mr Byrne’s electoral division of Holt on the wall.
CCTV footage of Mr Somyurek (pictured) in Mr Byrne’s electorate office was shown on 60 Minutes. Viewers could see whose office it was because the footage showed a map of Mr Byrne’s electoral division of Holt on the wall
Mr Somyurek and Mr Byrne were political allies with such a close bond that one source described them as ‘blood brothers’ – but their friendship collapsed towards the end of last year.
A source told Daily Mail Australia that Mr Somyurek released Mr Byrne’s offensive texts because ‘he feels he has nothing to lose’ – and that we haven’t heard the last of him yet.
Still an MP in the Victorian upper house, the former right-faction powerbroker can make speeches with legal immunity under parliamentary privilege, raising the prospect that Labor infighting will rumble on.
‘It’s hard to kill someone in politics,’ the source said.
In the private text messages Mr Byrne says he wants to ‘piss on the corpse’ of Alan Griffin, calls a female MP a ‘drunk’ and an unnamed female Labor activist a ‘ratf**ker’
On Wednesday night, Mr Byrne declined to comment on who set up the cameras in his office or how the footage came into the hands of 60 Minutes.
He said he would co-operate with investigations by police and Victoria’s anti-corruption body.
‘I welcome investigations into corruption, which has no place in the party I love,’ he said.
‘Because I do not want to cross over or impede any investigations that may be occurring, I’m unable to comment further at this point in time.’
Mr Byrne said he believes Mr Somyurek released a ‘handpicked selection’ of his texts in revenge after he agreed to co-operate with the investigations.
But Mr Somyurek said he was not angry with his former friend.
‘When I was reading the texts, I burst out crying. Not in anger but over the friendship and the battles we fought. We were like brothers,’ he told The Australian.
Mr Somyurek (pictured) believes he was deliberately set up in a ‘sting’ operation to oust him
‘I don’t have any anger towards Anthony, I am angry at those who have exploited him.’
Labor leader Anthony Albanese today said the texts were ‘completely unacceptable and inappropriate’ but said Mr Byrne will keep his job as deputy chair of parliament’s intelligence and security committee.
On Wednesday, Mr Albanese said he had not spoken to Mr Byrne yet because he did not know his office was involved, claiming he ‘did not recognise it’ in the footage.
But the labor leader spoke to Mr Byrne last night to ‘check on his welfare.’
Mr Albanese said the MP reassured him that he had ‘acted legally at all times.’
Attorney-General Christian Porter described the installation of a recording device with an MP’s office as a serious concern.
‘At a federal level, there are very strict rules about the use and authorised use of surveillance devices which, essentially, restrict that use to law enforcement agencies,’ he told parliament on Wednesday.
Labor backbencher Anthony Byrne (pictured)
‘The level of concern we might have, and whether that matter might require further inquiry, would turn very substantially on whether the member in question had themselves authorised or otherwise had knowledge of the installation of that device. That seems to be a very obvious and first question.’
Under Victorian law, recording a conversation does not require the consent of the person being recorded, unlike some other states.
Mr Byrne’s texts also criticised former Labor leader Bill Shorten, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and retired federal MP Michael Danby.
In one of the messages to Mr Somyurek, Mr Byrne promises to ruin the career of a Labor operative.
‘Because if she mucks you up I will make sure she guest stars in the next Four Corners hatchet job on China. Which I will be on. Watch her, she’s a ratf***er,’ he wrote.
The Victorian backbencher used vile language to express his disdain for Mr Griffin: ‘I want Griffin destroyed. I want his head cut off and then I am going to p**s on his corpse’.
He wrote to Mr Somyurek on another occasion: ‘On the plane with Bill (Shorten) and the drunk (female Labor figure). She’s dribbling s**t.’
Mr Byrne also expressed his anger towards the Victorian Premier: ‘Hope Daniel (Andrews) enjoys the victory. I hope this signs his death warrant politically’.
Adem Somyurek (pictured) reportedly released the text messages as political payback against Mr Byrne
Three ministers out of a job, a police investigation and a furious premier on a warpath: Inside Labor’s ‘appalling’ branch-stacking scandal – as mystery surrounds who leaked secret tapes
Daniel Andrews appeared to be on the warpath on Wednesday as he vowed to ‘clean-up’ his party after a major scandal claimed three of his ministers and sparked a police investigation.
The Victorian Premier apologised to hard-working Labor supporters on Wednesday after allegations of ‘industrial scale’ branch-stacking were levelled in a 60 Minutes programme on Sunday night.
Branch-stacking is when new party members are recruited to influence the outcome of internal elections. The practice is against both Liberal and Labor guidelines and can be illegal if it involves faking addresses or forging signatures.
Adem Somyurek (pictured in May, 2019) has been sacked over allegations of branch stacking
Former Victorian minister Marlene Kairouz (left) resigned from her post after she was caught up in the scandal. She denies any wrongdoing
The 60 Minutes show aired a series of recorded CCTV footage and phone calls which allegedly showed former minister for local government Adem Somyurek plotting and carrying out a huge branch-stacking operation involving creating fake members, which he denies.
Mystery remains over who made the secret tapes, but the day after the show a furious Premier Andrews sacked Mr Somyurek and said: ‘I have ended his career.’
Mr Somyurek was a powerbroker within the Victorian right and some analysts say his downfall benefits former Labor leader Bill Shorten, who now stands to increase his influence over the Labor right.
Since then two other ministers whose staff were allegedly involved in the scandal have resigned from their positions, Minister for Consumer Affairs Marlene Kairouz and Minister for Veterans Robin Scott.
Both vowed to clear their names but said they didn’t want to cause a distraction for the government or add to their families’ distress.
Premier Andrews, determined to find and stamp out any wrongdoing, has referred the allegations to the police and Victoria’s anti-corruption commission.
On Tuesday night he also made the extraordinary move of asking the national executive to block Victorian ALP members from voting in internal elections while every one is verified as a real and willing member who paid their own membership fees.
Adem Somyurek (centre) pictured at a meeting in May, 2019. Mr Somyurek is still an MP although he has resigned from the Labor Party
Former Victorian minister Robin Scott (pictured) resigned from his post after he was caught up in the scandal. He denies any wrongdoing
There are fears that up to 25 per cent of the members have been hoodwinked into signing up or faked altogether.
In a letter to the executive, Mr Andrews said he had ‘no confidence in the integrity of any voting rolls’ and asked national leadership to appoint former premier Steve Bracks and former federal minister Jenny Macklin to oversee the clean-up.
Speaking to reporters outside parliament on Wednesday morning, he said: ‘We have got to go through a process where each and every rank-and-file member re-establishes that they are genuine, consenting and self-funded members of our great party.
‘We need to clean this up and we will’.
Premier Andrews, who has been praised for effectively handling the scandal by swiftly sacking Mr Somyurek, apologised to innocent party members who have had their voting rights stripped until 2023.
I thank you for your work and your passion. I apologise for your pain
Daniel Andrews apologises to Labor supporters
‘I’ve got a message for all of those true believers, those genuine hard-working local branch members, who hand out how-to-vote cards, who make phone calls, who knock on doors, who debate policy – I thank you for your work and your passion. I apologise for your pain,’ he said.
Meanwhile, questions are being raised over who took the secret recordings of Mr Somyurek and how they came into the hands of 60 Minutes.
Phone call recordings and footage taken in Victorian federal MP Anthony Byrne’s electoral office showed the former minister calling a female colleague a ‘psycho bitch’, branding gay staff members ‘slimy little f***ers’ and boasting he was more powerful than the premier.
Mr Somyurek said: ‘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.’
Victorian Labor MP Tim Richardson has also called for an investigation on national security grounds.
‘We don’t know who put those recordings in, we don’t know what has been compromised,’ he said.
Jaclyn Symes, Gabrielle Williams, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, Melissa Horne and Adem Somyurek in 2018
‘That is a great concern for our Commonwealth and our national security.
‘The notion that there is an unknown covert recording is a great concern on our democracy and on our sovereignty and that needs to be investigated by the Australian Federal Police, and if it’s a national security risk, ASIO.’
Asked about the recordings on Monday, Labor leader Anthony Albanese said: ‘There were a range of other calls taped, somehow.
‘I don’t know all of the circumstances of it. That will all come out, no doubt, over a period of time. That really isn’t the story here.’
Mr Somyurek claims he resigned but Premier Andrews said he sacked the minister at 9am on Monday.
‘Mr Somyurek was not offered an opportunity to resign. He is not worthy of an opportunity to resign. He was sacked. And that is the fact of the matter,’ Premier Andrews said.
‘He offered no defence of his actions. It was not a meeting where I was having a debate or discussion with him. I was simply doing him the courtesy of informing him in person of the decisions that I had taken.’
‘The conduct is appalling and unacceptable and will not be tolerated and I have taken action to deal with that.’
The Premier said the first he heard of the allegations was when he watched 60 Minutes on Sunday night.
The programme claimed to reveal the upper house MP handed over thousands of dollars in cash and used parliamentary employees to create fake branch members and amass political influence within the Australian Labor Party.
Footage shows Mr Somyurek on April 13 withdrawing $2,000 in cash from an ATM, before handing it and dozens of party membership forms to an adviser working for fellow Labor minister Marlene Kairouz, who then delivers the forms and cash to ALP head office.
The advisor reportedly carried out a similar cash drop-off earlier in the year.
‘Well, if he (the advisor) gets caught on the street, he’d better not say he’s doing f***ing this stuff,’ Mr Somyurek is recorded saying after the April 13 drop.
Mr Somyurek was also allegedly recorded ordering people to forge signatures and create false statements, in which Labor branch members claim to have paid for their own memberships.
He also talks about directing taxpayer-funded parliamentary employees, meant to be working for other MPs, to conduct party political operations.
In one recording, Mr Somyurek boasts of controlling two-thirds of the Labor party in Victoria.
‘I’ll be just running the joint,’ Mr Somyurek says.
‘It’s who I say is going to be the f***ing premier.’
It is against Labor rules to pay for other people’s memberships and members are required to sign a form declaring they have paid their own fees.
In the recordings, Mr Somyurek also takes aim at his colleagues, including Ms Kairouz, who he describes as holding a ‘meaningless’ portfolio ‘made up just to make it look like we’re interested in the suburbs’.
He labels the Minister for Women and the Prevention of Family Violence Gabrielle Williams a ‘stupid b****’ whom he will ‘f***ing force … out of the ministry’.
Somyurek also describes these young staffers helping him as ‘patronising and annoying’, and ‘real little f***ing slimy little f***ers, little passive-aggressive f***ing gay kids.’