By PAUL YANDALL
Internal Affairs Minister Mark Burton has reopened the investigation into Hamilton fire chief Grant Olsen following the release of an audit report in Parliament.
The minister called for the inquiry in Parliament yesterday and said the report, tabled by New Zealand First leader Winston Peters on Wednesday, had raised "some concerns."
"I have informed the Fire Service Commission that I expect a full review of the Hamilton office situation on all matters tabled in the House. I have made clear my expectation is a full report within seven days," Mr Burton said.
He also extended the protection of his office to whistleblower Anita Garratt after a claim she was being punished for being honest during the initial investigation.
The new inquiry follows an internal investigation of Mr Olsen in January after financial mismanagement concerns were raised in a routine audit of his office in November.
The service has said there was insufficient evidence of fraud, despite receiving the report from its own internal auditor, David Parsons, in April. The report states that a shortfall of over $900 was unaccounted for over an 18-month period and concludes that several transactions made by Mr Olsen breached the service's fraud policy.
Some funds were recovered, including $470 returned anonymously by Mr Olsen, leaving $210 outstanding.
Mr Olsen rejected the claims yesterday and said that he had answered the report's allegations.
"There's $200 missing and I accept responsibility for that. But I have never stolen money and I have never defrauded the service."
He said many of the report's concerns were "honest mistakes," like recording the wrong date on an invoice or printing out the wrong number on an order form.
"When it comes to making sure the lives of firefighters are protected or whether the right number is on an invoice, I know where my priorities lie."
He said another claim in the report that he spent service money on a $779 bed that was delivered to his home was misleading. "That came to my house because there was no one at the station to accept it. When I got the chance, I got a trailer and delivered it to central [station] ... a few days later."
But he conceded he had made serious mistakes, among them the mishandling of $450 that went missing from the petty cash fund and later returned anonymously by him.
"I said I didn't remember taking it [but] I found it in my office. I was so sick, so scared of being accused of stealing, I returned it anonymously. I knew that was a mistake and I called my lawyer and [regional fire commander] Jim [Stephens] to tell them it was me."
He said he had received a written warning and had had a pay rise taken off him since the investigation.
Anita Garratt said she was relieved that Mr Burton had relaunched the inquiry as the Fire Service had stepped up pressure for her to sign an exit package with a confidentiality clause.
"They tried to get me to sign again [yesterday]. They said there was a package ready waiting. I'm not doing anything now."
She said she had been illegally suspended from work on July 13.
Fire Service spokesman Vince Arbuckle denied that Mrs Garratt had been suspended and said the service was waiting for a brief from Mr Burton's office on the new inquiry.
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
Latest from New Zealand
Meet NZ's national mullet-growing champion - and he's only 10-years-old
Ted Keen has just been named the winner of Aotearoa’s Next Top Mullet.