Vic ALP holds firm on stolen tapes denial
Victorian Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews has again defended staff who handled a leaked recorded conversation between former premier Ted Baillieu and a Fairfax journalist.
Under heavy questioning about the party's role in the alleged theft of the dictaphone, Mr Andrews repeated that none of his staff had distributed the recordings.
"No one in my office was involved in the distribution of this material," Mr Andrews said on Wednesday.
"All of my staff are focused on the issues that are most important to families across our state."
The politically damaging recording was emailed to hundreds of Liberal party members in June after it was lost by the journalist at the ALP state conference in May.
Victorian Labor assistant secretary Kosmos Samaras has admitted he was handed the recording device and he made copies of all its files, but said he later destroyed the files and the dictaphone.
Labor has no explanation for how one of the recordings came to be emailed to hundreds of Liberal party members.
Premier Denis Napthine said Mr Andrews' explanation was on par with "the dog stole my homework".
"It is difficult to believe at best," Dr Napthine told reporters on Wednesday.
