Alleged fraud at Victoria’s Bunurong Land Council referred to Victoria Police earlier this year
A key Aboriginal community organisation whose members include actor Tasma Walton has been put into administration, after two of its former leaders were accused of pocketing inappropriate fees.
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A key Aboriginal community organisation whose members include actor Tasma Walton has been put into administration.
Alleged fraud at Bunurong Land Council was referred to Victoria Police earlier this year after two former leaders were accused of pocketing inappropriate fees totalling more than $150,000.
The Frankston-based organisation is the recognised Indigenous body for an area stretching from Melbourne’s western suburbs to South Gippsland that includes Mornington Peninsula.
In 2021-22, it had revenue of $8.3m including fees from developers and farmers to do cultural heritage plans and other services, according to a financial report.
The federal government’s Office of the Registrar of Aboriginal and Torrest Strait Islander Corporations has announced that the Bunurong council has been put under special administration from Monday, September 11 to Friday, March 15, 2024.
It said the decision was made after a show cause notice was served on the council last month.
Business performance and risk management consultant Peter McQuoid has been appointed special administrator for the period.
Since February, the Registrar has deregistered nearly 700 Indigenous corporations across Australia for failing to lodge reports.
In July, some Bunurong council members including Tasma Walton gave evidence in the Federal Court against the rival Boon Wurrung Land and Sea Council which has lodged a native title claim over 13,000 sqkm of territory.
Ms Walton told the court she had “gradually realised” her Aboriginal identity after she moved to Melbourne to film Blue Heelers TV series in 1996.
Although she was brought up in WA, Ms Walton said her grandmother had shared “unusual stories” about Albert Park, Brighton and the Mornington Peninsula.
They included her theory on what happened to former prime minister Harold Holt, lost off Portsea in 1967.
“She said he shouldn’t have been swimming there, that it was mermaid country,” Ms Walton said.
During the case, Judge Bernard Murphy vented his frustration after contradictory evidence was given by the Bunurong side about who could claim Bunurong identity.
“It doesn’t look to me like there is any process, there’s no meeting of elders going on”, he said.
“Why isn’t this a matter which is capable of being sorted out by the people who should be sorting it out rather than an elderly white man.”
It is not suggested that the decision to put Bunurong council into administration has anything to do with Ms Walton, only that she is a member of the organisation.
On September 1, Bunurong council announced that former NAB executive Kevin Leighton had been appointed as interim CEO.
“This appointment marks a significant step in the council’s commitment to effective governance and community partnership,” a council statement said.
It said that Mr Leighton’s “down-to-earth approach aligns with the council’s community
engagement and collaboration values”.
“I’m looking forward to taking on this interim CEO role and getting to know the
remarkable team at Bunurong Land Council,” Mr Leighton said in the statement.
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