00:00Ambulance Victoria is an organisation familiar with pressure, but today the pressure was
00:07ramping up from multiple directions.
00:09I'm deeply concerned about this, the allegations of this disgraceful behaviour.
00:15Half a dozen Ambulance Victoria office staff are under investigation over what the agency
00:19describes as allegations of serious misconduct.
00:23It was reportedly a payroll department scam to the value of $3.5 million and is understood
00:29to have involved fake overtime and payment for shifts not worked.
00:33If these allegations are true, then people will need to go and there will need to be
00:37a clean up.
00:38Ambulance Victoria didn't make anyone available to answer questions today, but in a statement
00:43said the allegations were raised with the Chief Executive early last year and were immediately
00:48referred to IBAC and that an internal investigation remains underway.
00:53Because I find this behaviour so unacceptable, I don't want to compromise the investigation
00:57by making any further comments that I might like to make.
01:00The union representing Ambulance Victoria's office staff wants to know why the investigation
01:05didn't remain confidential until its conclusion.
01:08I would like to see senior officials at Ambulance Victoria swear on a stack of Bibles that they
01:14did not leak this information.
01:16Who cares whether it's an internal hit or not, is it true is the more important point
01:19in my view.
01:20So if it's true, people will need to go and they'll need to be held accountable.
01:25Everyone in Ambulance Victoria should be focused on supporting the work of hard working
01:29paramedics.
01:30But those paramedics, currently in the midst of a pay dispute, aren't happy.
01:35The paramedics union is preparing to release the results of a no confidence vote over Ambulance
01:40Victoria's management.
01:42That's expected tomorrow.
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