ICAC probes UNE manager over graft

A UNIVERSITY manager accepted 57 free lunches and dinners from a company who with his backing won a campus contract worth $1.2 million a year.

A UNIVERSITY manager accepted 57 free lunches and dinners from a company who with his backing had won a campus cleaning contract worth $1.2 million a year, the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption heard yesterday.

Counsel assisting Kate Williams asked Colin McCallum, campus services manager at the University of New England, whether five years of hospitality led to an expectation he would favour the company Quad Services.

Mr McCallum conceded this but said: "I still believed we were doing good deals for the university."

ICAC began public hearings yesterday into alleged favouritism in cleaning, security and postal contracts at the university worth about $2.8m a year.

Mr McCallum acknowledged he was the "key person" making the recommendation that Quad Services win the three-year cleaning contract in February 2005 after a closed tender.

Quad's contact person with the university, Dobrilla Cutler, made monthly trips to the Armidale campus for spot inspections and usually took Mr McCallum to lunch, Ms Williams told the hearing.

Asked about these lunches, Mr McCallum said it was customary to "build relationships" with suppliers.

Ms Williams said the bill for one dinner attended by Mr McCallum and others had come to $850 and was paid by Quad.

She told the inquiry the company also paid for cartons of beer delivered for Friday afternoon drinks at Mr McCallum's office, as well as contributing to the cost of Melbourne Cup functions for his staff.

"Certainly if someone offered us a carton of beer for Friday drinks we accepted that," Mr McCallum said.

The inquiry heard that Quad had given work to Mr McCallum's daughter, and paid $3000 in sponsorship money to New England Rugby Union, where as executive officer he was entitled to a 10 per cent cut.

A contract to handle letters at the university had gone to a security company, Sydney Night Patrol & Inquiry, with no previous experience in this field, Ms Williams said.

She said this company also had entertained Mr McCallum, paying for him to attend a "races and rugby day".