Former council engineer caught out by ICAC
Wednesday August 18, 2010
A former Cobar Shire Council engineer has been found to have engaged in corrupt conduct following an investigation by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).
An enquiry into the conduct of Don Gamage (also known as Don Kumaragamage) found he offered a $15,000 “bribe” to a local government employment consultant in order to secure a job with Woollahra Council, and falsified his employment history to secure jobs with Cobar and Coonamble shire councils.
The ICAC handed down its findings last week, recommending consideration of prosecution of Mr Gamage for “publishing false and misleading documents to obtain financial advantage in his employment applications to various local councils”.
The ICAC has made four recommendations to Cobar and Coonamble councils to help improve their recruitment processes and prevent corruption.
According to its report, the ICAC found both councils failed to adequately check his employment application details.
The ICAC also found evidence that around a quarter of NSW public sector job applications contain “resume falsification”.
“Given this, and the fact that Mr Gamage deliberately targeted rural councils because of the staff shortages they face, the lack of checking by these councils puts them at considerable risk of hiring inappropriately skilled or experienced staff,” the ICAC report said.
“There was also too much reliance on his status as a member of Engineers Australia, which the commission says did not conduct adequate checks of the information Mr Gamage provided.”
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