BendigoWeekly www.bendigoweekly.com.au
issue 1072 friday, june 1, 2018
class wars Principal row turns nasty
By Sharon kemp
signed and sealed: Premier Daniel Andrews, craftsman Master Hui and museum general manager Anita Jack.
Dragon build scales up with contract THE community campaign for a new imperial dragon has taken a huge step forward, following the signing of a contract in Hong Kong on Wednesday for the production of 120-metre-long Dai Gum Loong. The contract with the Golden Dragon Museum, City of Greater Bendigo and renowned craftsman Master Hui was signed
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in the presence of Victorian premier Daniel Andrews on Wednesday. Golden Dragon Museum general manager Anita Jack said Dai Gum Loong would have about 6500 scales, and was expected to be completed and shipped to Bendigo in time for next year’s Easter celebrations. – Continued Page 3
Housing group eyes Bendigo – Page 3
THE resignation of Bendigo South East College principal Ernie Fleming has deteriorated into a slanging match about the Department of Education and Training’s investigative process and the Speak Up program through which complaints about Mr Fleming’s leadership were first taken up. The Bendigo Weekly understands Mr Fleming will not pursue legal action, but will agitate for changes that also support principals when complaints are investigated. For the first time on Wednesday DET defended the 18-month investigation that Mr Fleming and his Shepparton-based lawyer David Schier have vehemently criticised since announcing the former’s resignation last Sunday. The department, speaking through an unnamed spokesperson, queried the timing of Mr Fleming’s resignation and assertions by Mr Schier that it was unrelated to the investigation’s findings. Mr Schier said Mr Fleming resigned because he made the decision he would not receive natural justice in the process. The department spokesperson confirmed the investigation “looked at a range of issues at the school including conflicts of interest and financial management”. “Mr Fleming was recently made aware of the report’s adverse finding and the proposal to remove him from his post, and he subsequently submit-
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ted his resignation prior to the final decision being made,” the spokesperson said. The department said attacks on the investigation by parents and community members supporting Mr Fleming were disappointing because ensuring his privacy meant the department was unable to respond. Mr Schier said Mr Fleming was also
Mr Fleming was recently made aware of the report’s adverse finding in a position of not being able to defend himself because he was denied access to documentation and subject to confidentiality controls. That changed when Mr Fleming resigned. DET will not confirm whether it will release the report containing the findings. But Mr Schier said the department conducted “an exhaustive forensic audit of the college accounts and did not find one dollar unaccounted for in $75m of expenditure at BSE on education facilities, programs, staff and contractors over five years”. 4Continued Page 7
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