We all like a drop of wine but this is ridiculous

I was staggered to hear that John Allman has been implicated in the IBAC investigation to the extent where he is no longer working for DET. ( I had a bit to do with John in 2010 during the development of the 'doomed' Rural Education Framework. he spoke fondly about his own experiences teaching in the bush. ) 

Mr Allman, who was until today the department's director for south-east Victoria, told the inquiry he destroyed documents detailing financial transactions with the Silverton Primary School at Noble Park, and disposed of the ripped documents into a bin at a Bunnings store.

Mr Allman said he destroyed the documents after eight IBAC officers visited him with a warrant to search his home.

The story below was in the Age just prior to this being announced. Defrauding DET certainly is thirsty work.

The principal of the Chandler Park Primary School in Keysborough has been suspended after Victoria's anti-corruption commission revealed he authorised $30,000 worth of wine purchases from his wine merchant son on behalf of allegedly corrupt public servants.

The suspension of Peter Paul follows the Education Department's announcement this week that it had sacked Nino Napoli, a senior financial official responsible for overseeing $4 billion in funds, after the Independent Broad-based Anti Corruption Commission identified him as the central figure in an alleged multi-million-dollar corruption scandal.

Mr Napoli's friend and former Education Department acting secretary Jeff Rosewarne on Tuesday admitted he used the Chandler Park Primary School to purchase large amounts of wine on his behalf in order to hide it from others in the department and avoid media scrutiny through Freedom of Information laws.

Admitting that Mr Paul was also his friend, Mr Rosewarne was confronted with a series of allegedly false invoices showing that in November 2009 he had $7000 worth of Italian wines delivered at his home by Mr Paul's son, Matthew Paul, owner of Trembath & Taylor wine merchants.

Two dozen bottles of wine were also delivered to Mr Napoli's house at that time.

Mr Rosewarne said the wine was for official functions and that after storing it in his garage he took it to his Treasury Place office.

IBAC has uncovered Chandler Primary School as having paid nearly $30,000 to Trembath & Taylor between 2007 and 2014.

Mr Rosewarne said he requested that the primary school be reimbursed for the wine. But he could not say whether it actually had been reimbursed.

A department spokesman said this morning that Mr Paul had been suspended pending further investigation. The school is being led by his assistant principal.

Mr Rosewarne left the Education Department in 2011 and is employed by the Catholic Education Office. He is on leave from that job at present.