Former Milingimbi director central to damning report: corruption watchdog had ‘ulterior motives’

A remote school principal in the Northern Territory, caught by the ICAC using hundreds of thousands of dollars in school fees for himself, is the latest in a series of people suing the former anti-corruption commissioner.

Most important points:

ICAC found Jennifer Lea Sherrington to have used school fees for “personal enrichment” Ms. Sherrington was the principal of the Milingimbi school between 2015 and 2019. She alleges that the ICAC acted “in bad faith” in investigating and publishing findings against her

Jennifer Sherrington was the principal of the Milingimbi School from 2015 to 2019, when former Independent Commissioner Against Corruption, Ken Fleming, discovered she had funneled money for personal use “for the poorest cohort of children in the country”.

The July 2021 ICAC report stated that Ms. Sherrington used school fees for unnecessary charter flights, rental cars, personal groceries, fine dining, and fast food.

The ICAC also discovered that she had assigned a government building to her cousin and attempted to manipulate enrollment and attendance rates to claim additional funding for the school.

According to the report, Ms. Sherrington “wasn’t in the business of education…she was manipulating data and herding children to attend school on ‘census’ days to fund funding from both the NT and the Australian governments.” maximize.”

Ms. Sherrington denies the allegations of corrupt conduct.

The hearing for Judge John Burns continues. (ABC News: James Dunlevie)

‘No real attempt to find out the truth’

In the Northern Territory Supreme Court on Thursday, Mrs. Sherrington’s attorney, Trevor Moses, alleged that the anti-corruption commissioner “acted in bad faith”, had personal “ulterior motives,” and that the report on her alleged corrupt behavior was “lustful,” and “sensationalistic”. . †

Mr. Moses told the court the ICAC’s report was “rushed” because Mr. Fleming was reportedly under pressure from the media to release the findings of a handful of investigations before retiring.

“He has time constraints and a public relations nightmare… Mr. Fleming had to turn over this investigative report and public statement before leaving office, and he needed it in the public interest,” said Mr. Moses.

“He needed a villain and had to be sensational, and he was.”

Mr. Fleming left his role as Anti-Corruption Commissioner in July 2021.

Ms. Sherrington’s lawyer argued that the investigation was a “carpet of error” and that people who could have confirmed Ms. Sherrington’s version were not contacted.

“There was no real attempt to establish the truth of serious allegations, including fraud and corruption, that was published to the world,” said Mr. Moses.

Mr. Fleming left his role as anti-corruption commissioner in July 2021. (ABC News: Alan Dowler)

Mr. Moses told the court investigators who interviewed Ms. Sherrington “already identified” [her] as the bad guy.”

Mr. Moses argues that no procedural or natural justice has been afforded to Mrs. Sherrington.

Lawyers from the ICAC and Mr. Fleming will respond to the claim when the hearing continues before Judge John Burns.