The extent of corruption pertaining to consumables in the Australian government has now moved into yet more departments.
After yesterday’s announcement of further involvement from governmental departments in the scam, The Advertiser has now revealed that an Australian university has been implicated in the cartridge-for-giftsscandal.
Gawler TAFE university’s involvement has now raised the number of suspect purchases to seven across the board, with an employee at the university buying two printer cartridges in February 2010 for AU$598 ($616/ €450), twice the standard retail price. This employee bought the cartridges in return for an AU$20 ($20.6/ €15) voucher for Australian retailer Coles-Myer.
To add to the previous revelations about Aboriginal Affairs
and the health departments in the government, the parliament’s Budget and Finance Committee yesterday heard that four suspect purchases of about AU$1300 ($1,341/ €978) were made in the Attorney-General’s department and Metropolitan Fire Service. The Advertiser speculates that other departments including Education and Transport, Energy and Infrastructure are involved.
Confirmed expenses already total more than AU$430,000 ($443,587/ €323,609), and Premier Jay Weatherill is now facing calls to investigate the depth of the corruption known to the Australian government, as well as to launch an Auditor-General’s inquiry, which would compel witnesses to give evidence and documents over.
In an inquiry currently under way, departmental heads in the government are auditing dealings with companies identified by a Victorian Ombudsman’s previous investigation. Opposition finance spokesman Rob Lucas said consumables manufacturers were offering to deliver gifts, including electronic goods, to the homes of public servants who could use taxpayer money to buy overpriced cartridges.
This in turn stops gifts being listed on departmental delivery invoices and prevents detection by the current investigation. “There needs to be the strength of leadership from Jay Weatherill, which we haven’t seen so far, to ensure the Auditor-General conducts the inquiry,” Lucas added.
Several employees have already been suspended pending investigations, with one understood to have resigned.