IBAC Ultranet hearing: former principal ‘broke every rule’

A FORMER school principal accused of corruption broke every rule in the book and spent millions of dollars he shouldn’t have, but he did it all for the good of education, an inquiry has heard.

Jeff Rosewarne (L) and Darrell Fraser attend the Melbourne Cup, 2011. Mr Rosewarne was former acting secretary of the Department of Education. Mr Fraser was former deputy secretary. Both are facing scrutiny by IBAC for their roles in the failed Ultranet computer project.

A FORMER school principal accused of corruption broke every rule in the book and spent millions of dollars he shouldn’t have, but he did it all for the good of education, an inquiry has heard.

In an expletive-ridden hearing yesterday anti-corruption watchdog IBAC played the secretly recorded phone conversations of disgraced former regional director of education John Allman.

IBAC is examining the tendering process and share-purchases around the failed Ultranet computer project which cost taxpayers about $240 million, but was scrapped after it failed to work.

Mr Allman was a close personal friend of former Glen Waverley Secondary College principal Darrell Fraser. After becoming deputy education secretary, Mr Fraser drove the Ultranet as a pet project, IBAC has heard.

On tape Mr Allman was heard saying of Mr Fraser in 2014: “They’ll find out that he broke every f------ rule in the book and spent millions of dollars he shouldn’t have spent, but he didn’t have any personal gain there. He did it for the good of f------ education.”

He said if Mr Fraser was found to have pocketed money, “I’ll bare my a--e at the top end of f------ Bourke Street.”

Mr Allman told the hearing Mr Fraser was a “workaholic” and needed his office manager Stephen Sullivan to drive him places so he could continue working in the car.

The hearing focused on Mr Allman’s purchase of almost $10k worth of shares in technology company CSG in May 2009, two days before CSG was named preferred Ultranet tenderer.

He told the inquiry he invested in CSG after overhearing Mr Fraser discussing the company.

Documents predating his share purchase showed Mr Allman sat on committees that discussed Ultranet, and prepared a parliamentary paper on the project, but he said he could not recall the committees and was adamant he did not prepare the paper.

Mr Allman was sacked from his regional director job last year after telling IBAC’s first education inquiry he destroyed documents in a rubbish bin at Bunnings.

Mr Fraser is due to give evidence at IBAC today, the final day of public hearings.

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