POLICE CALL IN ELECTION CANDIDATE:
Police call in candidate, who asks:
BRIAN McKiterick says he is being forced to front a police probe into a media leak only days out from the state election.
Mr McKiterick, a longserving policeman who is running as the Liberals’ candidate for Bellarine, said he had been instructed to attend an interview with the force’s Professional Standards Command on Tuesday.
It is understood the unit is investigating revelations — printed by the Geelong Advertiser in March — that senior police had instructed him to refrain from commenting on the rainbow flag issue that embroiled Surf Coast Shire for more than 12 months.
Mr McKiterick, a councillor with the shire since 2008, had been critical of the shire’s decision to fly a rainbow flag outside its Torquay headquarters in support of same-sex marriage.
He told the Advertiser yesterday he did not understand the timing of the police interview, saying the PSC internal investigator refused to reschedule it to a date after next Saturday’s election.
“I’m concerned about the timing. The alleged incident happened nine months ago and I’ve had no indication of any problems before that,” Mr McKiterick said.
“I can understand my requirement to attend and I’m willing to co-operate fully with Victoria Police . . . (but) I can’t see a reason for the need for expediency when it’s been nine months since the incident occurred.”
Mr McKiterick is on leave from Victoria Police as he contests the state election.
He stopped short of alleging the timing of the interview was political, but raised questions about whether the 21 Labor MPs linked to the red shirts affair were facing similar scrutiny.
“As I’ve indicated before, there are Labor MPs that are under investigation for rorting the community,” Mr McKiterick said.
“There should be a fair and balanced playing field in respect to those issues when they’re targeting me for an alleged breach of a police media policy.”
A spokeswoman for Victoria Police said it would be “inappropriate” to comment on the nature of internal meetings.
As reported by the Addy earlier this year, it is believed the force’s western region superintendent, Craig Gillard, was tasked with talking to Mr McKiterick about his views on the rainbow flag issue.
Sources suggest the force’s senior brass had pressured Supt Gillard to pull the then mayor of Surf Coast Shire into line over his opposition to the flag.
Mr McKiterick confirmed he had met with police senior management in May 2017 and said he was instructed not to comment on the rainbow flag issue.
“I was informed that it came from senior management of the region,” he said in March.
The election contest in Bellarine is pitting Mr McKiterick against Lisa Neville, the state’s police minister.
Ms Neville has previously denied having any knowledge or involvement with the police’s instruction to Mr McKiterick to remain silent.