The story of Joanne Harrison defrauding the Ministry of Transport saw her
end up in jail – and now it has moved on to the future of her boss at the time, Martin Matthews.
Matthews has chosen to step down as Auditor General while his eligibility for the role is reviewed.
Matthews, replaced by Deputy Auditor General Greg Schollum, is under scrutiny for his failure to detect fraudulent activity under his watch at the ministry even though eight staff members raised red flags about Harrison’s conduct from 2013 to 2016
Cross-party MPs on the Offices of Parliament Committee decided unanimously to review Matthews’ position in response to a request from him to do so, according to speaker of the house David Carter. Senior public servant Sir Maarten Wevers is now set to conduct the inquiry into Matthews’ suitability for the role and it is anticipated he will provide feedback within the next two weeks.
Matthews apparently questioned Harrison (aka Sharp, aka Sidebottom) about these tip offs but he seemingly accepted her assurance that he had nothing to worry about.
In addition, the fate for the whistle-blowers was the axe as part of a company restructure in which Harrison had a say. The
State Services Commission has launched an independent investigation into their treatment.
When
Insurance Business questioned insurance professionals as to their view on the matter they were not keen to comment on the record but the prevalent feeling is that more information has to come to light as to why Matthews did not respond to whistle-blower concerns earlier before any judgements can be made.
In addition to Harrison’s theft from the ministry, some of her other machinations include duping the ministry into giving her husband a $100,000 job and adding an invisible friend to the ministry’s payroll.
Matthews said he regrets that these events took place under his watch and wishes he could have detected criminal activity sooner. However, he stands by his handling of the saga and maintains that when he became aware of Harrison’s true identity he wasted no time bringing her to justice.
Currently Harrison is serving a jail sentence of seven years and three months for her fraudulent activity. Her reason for leaving
Tower is unknown as the insurer cited it as private information. But what is known is that she worked there as Joanne Sharp from 2005 to 2006 as head of people and change.
Related stories:
Ex-Tower employee ends up in jail
Insurer Tower’s ex-employee investigated by SFO
