Coronavirus NSW: Security boss linked to COVID hotel fiasco trained John Hopoate
The Sydney majority-owner of a company linked to the Melbourne hotel quarantine debacle trained rugby league bad boy John Hopoate to Australia’s heavyweight boxing title.
NSW
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The Sydney majority-owner of a security company linked to the hotel quarantine debacle that’s triggered Australia’s second coronavirus wave trained rugby league bad boy John Hopoate to Australia’s heavyweight boxing title.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal Unified Security is controlled by Dave Millward, who ran two other security businesses that collapsed in 2018. One owed creditors $1.6 million.
Mr Millward has previously held contracts for a string of Kings Cross nightclubs including Hugo’s and Dragonfly, plus provided protection for the Sea Eagles.
That was where he met Hopoate, whom he would later manage and train to the national heavyweight crown.
The most suspended league player in the modern era, Hopoate worked as a bouncer in the Cross for Mr Millward. It’s understood they later fell out.
Mr Millward, who has been described as “the best-connected security operator in Sydney”, is Unified’s national operations head and owns 51 per cent of the company via a complex structure.
Billed as the “nation’s largest privately owned Indigenous security company”, Unified was contracted to provide COVID-19 quarantine security at Melbourne hotels, despite not being on the Victorian Government’s list of preferred providers.
The Andrews Labor government does, however, have a 1 per cent Indigenous procurement target.
Mr Andrews’ office did not respond to a request for comment on Unified’s inclusion in the quarantine program.
A hotel Unified was responsible for, the Rydges on Swanston in Carlton, was the source of one of the largest coronavirus outbreaks.
Victorian authorities have said every case of coronavirus in the state in recent weeks may have come from the bungled quarantine program.
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NSW is now enduring the knock-on effect, with Casula’s Crossroads Hotel cluster linked back to Melbourne.
Victoria now has more than 3400 active cases, with 484 recorded yesterday — the highest since the pandemic began.
An official inquiry into the quarantine program is now under way.
Mr Millward’s majority stake in Unified is structured via a holding company whose sole director is Unified’s executive assistant, Sandy Millward Pratt.
Like Mr Millward, she is not a director of Unified Security.
One of Unified’s directors is Warren Liddiard, who previously ran an Indigenous mentoring business and is former Parramatta Eels player David Liddiard’s brother.
Mr Millward formerly owned and operated a business called Guardsplus Security, which was liquidated in 2018.
In a report to creditors, the liquidator said he had identified possible insolvent trading.
Another security company he owned and ran, Yendys Manpower, also collapsed in 2018 owing unsecured creditors $1.6 million.
Its liquidator told creditors it too may have traded while insolvent.
But the corporate regulator did not take any action following either collapse.
On his Facebook page, Mr Millward says he worked for NSW Corrective Services for 15 years until 2006.
He did not respond to requests for comment. Warren Liddiard could not be contacted.
A whistleblower guard employed by a different security company earlier this week said she was not given training or her own protective equipment.
Unions have also claimed guards working at the hotels were not appropriately trained.
Know more? Email john.rolfe@news.com.au