Aus Post chief in damage control after delivery contract charged

http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2015/s4288194.htm

Aug 8 2015

ELEANOR HALL: Australia Post has called in Victoria's former chief commissioner of police to investigate allegations about a contractor running a criminal syndicate that involved defrauding the Commonwealth and falsifying documents.
Three men have been charged with a series of offences relating to an alleged immigration racket involving Australia Post delivery drivers after raids across Melbourne yesterday.
Former chief commissioner of Victoria Police Ken Lay will now undertake an internal review to examine how the alleged activity occurred and how contractors and sub-contractors operated within the organisation.
Australia Post's managing director Ahmed Fahour told our business editor Peter Ryan that he won't tolerate criminal behaviour in the organisation.
PETER RYAN: Ahmed Fahour, the arrest of a millionaire delivery contractor allegedly running a criminal fraud syndicate has happened on your watch. What are you doing about it?
AHMED FAHOUR: Look, from time to time there are some delivery contractors who will need to be reviewed and there's no question that this particular contractor was reviewed.
We worked very closely with the Australian Federal Police and I was very happy to see that we've managed to successfully bring him to account and his organisation with the successful arrest yesterday.
PETER RYAN: When were you, as chief executive of Australia Post, first made aware of the alleged criminal activities of Baljit Singh and his associates?
AHMED FAHOUR: Look, I can't go into the matters of the police and the investigation, but it's fair to say that the Australian Federal Police indicated that they'd been working on this arrest for nearly a year now, and I quote here, this is the Australian Federal Police, "would not have been able to successfully disrupt this scheme without the cooperation from Australia Post throughout this year-long investigation" and that's a direct quote from the Australian Federal Police.
PETER RYAN: So this has been a long period that you've been aware of this, but obviously while the investigation has been underway, you've had to remain silent about that?
AHMED FAHOUR: Look, again, I won't comment on the specifics. This is now a court case, but I can say as a Commonwealth-owned agency with the Commonwealth authorities, we work very closely together and have for years and years and decades, and we'll continue to do so and if there are rogue players like this, we will bring them to account.
PETER RYAN: This type of alleged criminal activities has happened on your watch. Is it any type of embarrassment for you as chief executive of Australia Post?
AHMED FAHOUR: Look, nobody wants their organisation, when they find out that there are some people who are allegedly undertaking criminal activities; Australia Post is a victim just like some of these students seem to be victims of a very sophisticated fraud.
The bit that is disappointing is that it took this length of time to finally lay the charges but, you know, these kind of things happen.
PETER RYAN: But these are very serious and unusual allegations, an immigration racket allegedly, defrauding the Commonwealth, falsifying documents on police checks and student records. It's much more of a case than things that just happen?
AHMED FAHOUR: Look, this organisation and these people, it's a very sophisticated scam. We do use a network of some of these contractors to deliver and the vast majority of these people are terrific small business owners who abide by the law and do the right thing.
I think it would be a terrible injustice to cast a web, a bad feeling to the rest of all these small business owners who do a terrific job day in, day out.
These people have clearly done the wrong thing and they're going to be brought to account and we cannot and will not condone this inappropriate behaviour and I hope the full force of the law is brought upon them.
PETER RYAN: But do you have any concern though that checks and balances that would be taking place inside Australia Post did not pick up this activity earlier?
AHMED FAHOUR: We have very strong and robust compliance and if there are any other rogue players out there who want to inflict this kind of fraud, the full force of the law will be put on display to ensure that these people don't do the kinds of things that they do.
PETER RYAN: With Ken Lay's appointment, will he be looking just at these allegations as the court case goes on, or the broader situation within Australia Post?
AHMED FAHOUR: I want him to look at this specific one because he's run a police organisation before. We began a review in April this year; we already have one underway and it lead to a series of recommendations.
I have to say one of those recommendations was to do spot audits before we undertake contracts with third parties, where we can audit things.
The other thing that we've implemented is a whistle blower hotline that is available to the union; it's available to employees; it's available to contractors themselves, ex-contractors, and we want to hear of any fraudulent behaviour going on by any contractor.
PETER RYAN: And away from the specific charges and allegations, post and parcel drivers claim they're being paid well below award rates by Australia Post contractors, missing out on entitlements like superannuation and sick leave because they're being classified as sub-contractors rather than employees. Will Mr Lay be looking at this?
AHMED FAHOUR: We absolutely do not have this kind of practice here. From where we sit right now, we outsource or we have partners, business partners for example, licensed post offices.
These are good people. There are 3,000 of them across the country and to somehow say, when they employ people, a licensed post office, when it employs employees, sub people to work with them, that somehow that all of a sudden that they're going to underpay or do the wrong thing or some of these master contractors, is just an accusation that I think is ridiculous.
PETER RYAN: But, if you see evidence that employees who are directly or indirectly employed by Australia Post are being underpaid, you will look at fixing that or investigating that?
AHMED FAHOUR: We will immediately do that and I can assure you, the full force of the law will be put to these people and they will be held to account and we will not accept or tolerate this kind of behaviour.
PETER RYAN: That's the managing director of Australia Post, Ahmed Fahour, with our business editor Peter Ryan.