Newly promoted Victorian government minister Luba Grigorovitch has announced she will never write another character reference, after realizing that blindly vouching for people whose criminal histories she hadn't bothered to check might not be the best use of her political capital.
Grigorovitch issued a statement on Monday night confirming that, since becoming the member for Koroit in late 2022, she had provided "around 33" character references, including six "to individuals that I now know I shouldn't have." Among the regrettable endorsements was one for Muhammad Isa, a former taxi driver convicted of indecently assaulting female passengers in 2013, and another for a Pakistani citizen (pseudonym CYNW) who had his partner visa refused due to past domestic violence offending.
"At the time I provided these references, I was not aware of their history," Grigorovitch said, apparently operating under the assumption that character references work best when you actively avoid learning anything about the person's character. The Administrative Review Tribunal, which rejected Isa's appeal, noted that Grigorovitch was indeed "unaware of his past offending" - which is comforting, if not particularly reassuring.
Speaking outside parliament on Tuesday, Grigorovitch confirmed the reports but refused to detail the remaining four regrettable references, citing "private individuals." She explained that each person was a "volunteer within the community" and conceded her office had no vetting process in place. "My process is not good enough," she admitted, in what may be the understatement of the Victorian political season.
Grigorovitch, a former state secretary of the Rail, Tram and Bus Union, was elevated to cabinet in April by Premier Jacinta Allan, taking on the portfolios of youth, carers and volunteers. She previously made headlines for having "no regrets" about her friendship with former construction union leader John Setka, whom she thanked in her maiden speech and who attended her wedding.
Shadow attorney general James Newbury said the revelations proved Grigorovitch was "not fit to be a minister," adding, "If this government had any integrity, she would be sacked. It has no integrity." Greens leader Ellen Sandell noted she had written exactly one character reference in 12 years as an MP - for someone she actually knows. Meanwhile, fellow minister Harriet Shing assured reporters that writing character references "has never been my practice," which is the political equivalent of saying, "I read the manual."
The Liberal party, not to be outdone in the character reference scandal department, had its own incident earlier this year when a political hopeful wrote a reference for a convicted sex offender. So at least everyone's getting equal opportunity to learn this lesson.