The family of a whistleblower who exposed corruption at Bendigo Health says the release of a report by the state’s anti-corruption watchdog vindicates those who took the brave step of speaking out.
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But they’re calling on the Bendigo Health board to ensure it considers the human cost of corruption, when reviewing the report.
IBAC’s Operation Liverpool found chief executive John Mulder “engaged in conduct contrary to the Victorian Public Sector Code of Conduct and Bendigo Health’s stated organisational values” and identified “organisational and systemic corruption vulnerabilities at Bendigo Health that facilitated this conduct”.
Mr Mulder was found to have used the organisation’s resources for his own benefit.
IBAC also found former construction manager Adam Hardinge abused his position at Bendigo Health, particularly in relation to the enabling works for the new hospital.
Hardinge was last year fined $15,000 after pleading guilty in the Bendigo Magistrate’s Court to nine theft and deception charges.
The Bendigo Health board says the release of the report allows an internal review into Mr Mulder’s activities to be finalised.
The Independent Broad-Based Anti-Corruption Commission spent many months conducting Operation Liverpool – an investigation into allegations of corruption at Bendigo Health.
In the period that followed an internal audit at the organisation in late 2014, IBAC officers raided former construction manager Adam Hardinge’s home and seized 24 items.
Chief executive officer, John Mulder, his wife, and the former executive director of building and infrastructure were summoned to private examinations.
IBAC also took 45 witness statements from employees and contractors at Bendigo Health.
Some interviews and documents were offered voluntarily, while others were by way of summons – and it all started because a small number of whistleblowers raised concerns.
This week, IBAC released the findings, which implicated Mr Mulder and Hardinge.
Today, one whistleblower’s family shares their thoughts. This is their statement:
We would like to give our statement from the perspective of the human side of this corruption, which is yet to be addressed by many departments.
After witnessing the personal toll this corruption at Bendigo Health had on our family member, who was employed by Bendigo Health, and the other brave/courageous individuals who brought this corruption to light we have continued to push for greater transparency into the corruption at Bendigo Health and the release of the IBAC report.
How incredibly fortunate we are now to finally have the IBAC report tabled in parliament, and their findings/recommendations.
We commend the wonderful work undertaken by IBAC. For some time now we have raised concerns to state and federal Members regarding the lack of governance at Bendigo Health (especially regarding the New Bendigo Hospital Project) that allowed corruption to take place in such an illegal, deceptive and unsophisticated manner.
We now call on state health minister Jill Hennessy and Bendigo Health, in light of the IBAC findings, to implement the IBAC recommendations.
As we stated in the Bendigo Advertiser on October 22, 2016, not only do the taxpayers deserve a right to know how their money is used in these major capital projects, but we think it is owed to the whistleblowers who put their jobs, health and future employment on the line to call out and stop the corruption that was taking place over many years.
As we also stated in our previous comments, it was a huge disappointment that Adam Hardinge, the then senior construction manager of the New Bendigo Hospital Project who was responsible for much of the corruption, only received a conviction and light fine.
It is shocking when reading the IBAC report which reveals in full the scale of his corruption - it once again adds insult to injury, his severe lack of conviction. It also raises many concerns as to why the other people have escaped accountability. It is now disturbing to read in the IBAC report that Mr Hardinge has put into question the integrity of the building work he oversaw.
To now see the full scale of the corruption in the IBAC report, it is imperative that their recommendations are implemented by Bendigo Health to prevent any future corruption, especially on stage two of the new hospital.
The IBAC recommendations will only be of any value to stamping out corruption if they are taken seriously by the health minister and Bendigo Health. Bendigo Health needs to be clear and transparent in regards to the way it handles these recommendations.
Bendigo Health employees must be encouraged and supported when undertaking the ethical steps of reporting corruption and made to feel confident their actions will help stamp out any further potential corruption.
Once again in light of the IBAC report we hope it will give confidence to others who knew or saw “things” and lacked the confidence/or couldn’t speak to finally come forward to expose the real scale of how big we all really know it was. We urge everybody to read the full Operation Liverpool report.
The whistleblowers who uncovered this corruption, sadly did not have the confidence to take their concerns higher within Bendigo Health. We have continued this push so future whistleblowers are never put in this position again.
How disappointing for the Bendigo Health board of management/staff /taxpayers to hear of the current chief executive officer’s conduct, as written in the IBAC report. As IBAC stated (page 21) “an organisation’s ethical culture is under pinned by the tone from the top”. Corruption took place under his watch and leadership.
It is offensive to hear Mr Mulder disputing the fact that there was no toxic culture in the Department of Buildings and Infrastructure, as it is noted in the IBAC report that this division reported the poorest culture across all divisions at Bendigo Health in an independently conducted staff survey in 2013.
This department is where the corruption originated and where many wonderful honourable staff suffered at the hands of this corruption. This corruption had the potential to ruin the reputation of Bendigo Health and especially in this case taint our wonderful new $630 million hospital.
In the end as IBAC states, corruption costs us all, but to some especially the whistleblowers it has a far bigger impact.
When Bendigo Health takes into account their independent review findings plus the IBAC report, we hope they take into account the biggest cost of all to this corruption and that is the health and well-being of their number one asset, their employees.
Jill Hennessy stated in the Bendigo Advertiser in July, 2016, that both her department and Bendigo Health could have lessons to learn from the IBAC Investigation. It is now up to these departments to do the right thing.
