DROUGHT OFFICER MOVED AFTER MEMO
31.03.1989
By: MORLEY P Source: QNP
Drought officer moved after aid-abuse memo By PETER MORLEY MR J.J. ""Dan'' Daly, the man who wrote a Government memorandum about drought-aid abuses, had been transferred out of his job, the Primary Industry Minister, Mr Harper, confirmed last night.
Mr Harper, speaking from Roma, denied that Mr Daly's transfer was in any way linked to the leaked memo or was of any significance in advance of a Public Accounts Committee inquiry. The Solicitor-General's Office is investigating primary producers to see whether they should be prosecuted for alleged abuses of drought-aid programs.
The Public Accounts Committee will make its own public investigation of the State-federal programs.
The Opposition Leader, Mr Goss, said last night: ""To move Daly, the man who wrote the report, seems to be very suspicious, coming just ahead of the Public Accounts Committee inquiry.'' Mr Harper said: ""What I am doing is upgrading the classification of the officer responsible. I am advised that Mr Daly was transferred out for other reasons and a more senior officer appointed.
""Responsibility for the drought secretariat has been assumed by a person who was an assistant to the Director-General.'' Mr Harper said he did not know to what job Mr Daly, a cattle husbandry officer, had been moved, but he had remained on the same pay.
""I have been quite supportive (of Mr Daly) and have expressed the opinion that he was rather naive to think that he could put his opinions in writing and not have them leaked,'' he said.
Mr Harper said he had been ""quite irate'' that Daly was out of contact on six weeks' leave at his New South Wales property when the memo was leaked.
""In all probability I think Dan Daly, as the officer responsible for making a decision, could well need to explain why he didn't take action previously and why he at least didn't bring it to my attention some time earlier,'' Mr Harper said.
""I am quite satisfied he should have referred some of his concerns to me months ago,'' he said, then repeated: ""His transfer is not related to that at all.''
Mr Harper has been under attack from Labor politicians including Mr Brian Courtice, the federal MHR who first revealed Mr Daly's memo alleging the abuses.
Mr Courtice called on the Premier, Mr Ahern, to sack Mr Harper for his ""refusal to act on his own portfolio and uncover the allegations made by his own department''.
Mr Goss said that Mr Harper should be stood aside pending the outcome of the inquiry. ""By his (Mr Harper's) own admission he says he has known about irregularities with these payments for two years or more,'' Mr Goss said.
""His failure to act on this information is evidence of gross and persistent neglect.''
Mr Ahern rejected the calls last night and said the Public Accounts Committee should be allowed to do its job.
The Federal Finance Minister, Senator Walsh, last night welcomed the investigation.
""This should have happened years ago,'' he said.
