“This has resulted in litigation and great delays in reports being published,” Redlich said.

“The act should permit an alternative procedure,such as that followed by royal commissions,boards of inquiry[or the] NSW ICAC,so that at the end of hearings,counsel assisting make submissions and the legal representatives of the persons of interest make a submission in response.

“Then the commission,without any further step,may write its report and publish it.”

The former commissioner also wants stronger protections for IBAC under the Parliamentary Committees Act and for the watchdog’s private recommendations to institutions – which are beyond the scope of final reports – to be made public.

Redlich’s comments cap a tense week in state politics. The retired commissioner appeared before parliament’s integrity and oversight committee last Monday to declare Victoria had a “very serious problem” on its hands when it comes to tackling corruption.

Rather than focus on Redlich’s concerns,Labor MPs on that committee peppered the former judge with unrelated questions,including whether he had bullied any of his staff.

Last Thursday,two of the committee’s government representatives confronted Greens chair Tim Read in a corridor in Parliament House. The Labor MPs were unhappy with Read’s decision to speak in support of debating a Coalition motion relating to Redlich’s treatment at Monday’s hearing.

In an interview withThe Sunday Age,Redlich said of last week’s hearing:“If Monday’s conduct illustrates anything at all,it speaks loudly to the fact that political considerations override the need for reform.”

Shadow attorney-general Michael O’Brien said Labor MPs appeared to have decided that attacking Redlich and his supporters was easier than cleaning up their own act.

IBAC’sOperation Daintree report,published earlier this year,foundthe Andrews government awarded a Labor-affiliated union a $1.2 million contract on the eve of the 2018 election without a competitive tender process.

“Robert Redlich is a serious person and has put forward serious ideas for dealing with the corruption in Victoria,” O’Brien said. “He deserves respect,not smears from a rattled Andrews Labor government.”

Former state Labor MP Ken Coghill,who was speaker in the lower house in the Cain government and is now an Accountability Round Table director,urged the Andrews government to listen to Redlich’s advice when it came to lowering the threshold for IBAC investigations.

“The record suggests governments can actually benefit from stronger investigative powers,in that it enhances public confidence in the government’s performance,” Coghill said. “The general observation is that the longer governments are in office,the greater the risk they will overlook transgressions.”

Those comments were backed by former Liberal premier Ted Baillieu,who formally established IBAC in July 2012.

“We introduced the legislation,” Baillieu said. “I think in many respects IBAC’s done well. If there’s room for improvement,there ought to be given serious consideration.”

A spokeswoman for the government said it had almost doubled IBAC’s funding since Labor assumed office in 2014. She also said the government had improved IBAC’s public examination powers in 2019,and that requests for additional reforms were a matter for the current acting commissioner.

“The attorney-general regularly speaks to IBAC and other agencies about law reform they would like the government to consider,” the spokeswoman said.

“The government is giving proper consideration to the recommendations of Operation Daintree,as is appropriate,and will respond in due course.”

Get the day’s breaking news,entertainment ideas and a long read to enjoy.Sign up to receive our Evening Edition newsletter here.