Carol Altmann – The Terrier

Another member of the Lyndoch Living board has resigned – the second resignation from the board in two months.

Suzanne Coulson, a researcher and lecturer at Deakin University in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, joined the Lyndoch board in 2017.

I don’t know why Ms Coulson resigned, and I doubt she could speak to me anyway, as all board members are bound by a confidentiality agreement which was introduced after the departure of former CEO Rhys Boyle in 2015.

Ms Coulson’s resignation follows that of veteran board member Percy Eccles, who left in March after serving almost 10 years.

Ms Coulson was one of only two board members with medical qualifications. The other is fellow lecturer in the Deakin School of Nursing and Midwifery, Lorraine Mielnik.

The resignations of both Mr Eccles and Ms Coulson come as Lyndoch Living faces mounting pressure to explain a number of concerns around its plan to build a $24 million medical clinic on site, with fears the project could send Lyndoch broke.

Lyndoch’s former Acting Chief Financial Officer Allan Conway raised the red flag publicly when he said he did not support the clinic project in its current form.

Lyndoch recently appointed its third chief financial officer in five years, with the departures of David Knight and Katie Wright.

Other recent executive resignations include IT director Dr Ed Rhode and Director of People and Resilience Fiona Moore.

A community action group made up of Warrnambool residents concerned for the future of Lyndoch was launched last week – you can follow/like the “Keep Lyndoch living” group on Facebook here.

Carol Altmann – The Terrier

A grassroots action group has formed to challenge Lyndoch Living over plans to build a $22m medical clinic that some fear may send it broke.

I have written dozens of stories these past 18 months about concerns around Lyndoch Living and every time there is the same response from readers: what can we do?

Well here is the answer – you can support this action group.

The group – “Keep Lyndoch living” (follow them on their new Facebook page here) – is being led by local people who are prepared to speak up on behalf of the community, and you can stand with them.

The co-chairs are heavy hitters in Professor James Dunbar, who has had a long and distinguished career as a health researcher in Australia and overseas. He moved to south-west Victoria from the UK to become the first Director of the Greater Green Triangle University Department of Rural Health.

Prof Dunbar taught Clinical Governance and Risk Management for Flinders University in Adelaide, Singapore and China, and is an Honorary Professor with Deakin University.

The other co-chair is Jim Burke, a former naval officer and a senior investigator for the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security until his retirement in 2009.

They are the public face of what they hope will be a united community voice seeking answers from Lyndoch on two broad questions:

how is the medical clinic being financed?

how will it benefit the residents of Lyndoch?

Last month, Lyndoch’s former Acting Chief Financial Officer Allan Conway revealed that, on the information available to him, he had formally advised Lyndoch CEO Doreen Power that he didn’t support the medical centre as proposed.

Mr Conway added that, as a private citizen, he also held fears for the viability of Lyndoch.

Despite this fire alarm from a former, well-respected CFO, the public response from the Lyndoch board has been silence.

In a media release today, Prof Dunbar said the community group had to move quickly, as construction was due to start on the clinic any day.

“If the medical centre resulted in serious financial issues for Lyndoch, the viability of Lyndoch could be threatened,” he said.

“As the community has funded and built Lyndoch over the past 70 years, it is imperative that the medical centre is based on a sound business plan and full transparency.”

Mr Burke said the group will seek a meeting with Lyndoch board.

In the interim, the group has contacted State Minister of Ageing Luke Donnellen, Federal Member Dan Tehan and State MPs Roma Britnell, Bev McArthur and Andy Meddick, to raise the following, specific concerns:

i. The cost of the centre;

ii. How the centre is to be funded;

iii. How loans and interest are to be repaid.  Borrowing would be at the current low interest rates, but this cannot be guaranteed in the future;

iv. Whether proper business modelling has been done for the clinic (including full business and operational plans), together with an associated risk management plan;

v. Details of prospective tenants.  Whilst an unknown number of GPs from The Health Spot and Warrnambool Medical Clinic have been secured, an advertisement in the Warrnambool Standard on 1 May, 2021 raises concerns about whether an adequate number of tenants in total can be secured where there are general GP shortages in rural areas;

vi. The effect of the Royal Commission into Aged Care and whether this could cause other financial pressures on Lyndoch.

To me, the launch of this group is significant, as I have learned that it’s incredibly difficult for people in Warrnambool to publicly question the decisions of those in authority.

People, I have learned, are often fearful to speak up individually.

Strength, however, lies in numbers and a unified voice.

Whether this group succeeds as a unified voice now hinges on how many people are prepared to stand alongside them as they speak up on behalf of the community.

If you want to stand with them, you can like/share/follow the “Keep Lyndoch living” Facebook page, which will provide updates to the community on its progress.

Carol Altmann – The Terrier

I have learned that two staff – including a senior staff member – within the finance area of Lyndoch Living resigned today.

Another two resigned earlier this month.

In light of the legal precautions I must operate under when reporting on Lyndoch Living, you can make of that what you will.

But these resignations follow the former Acting Chief Financial Officer Allan Conway notifying the Lyndoch CEO Doreen Power of his serious concerns regarding the financial viability of a proposed $22 million medical clinic.

Mr Conway, who finished his 12-month contract in March, last night went public with those concerns.

Based on the information available to him, he does not support the medical clinic as proposed.

As a citizen, he holds fears for the future of Lyndoch Living.

And now the resignations from the inside keep coming.

When does this become a full blown crisis?

We have heard nothing from the board, who are chosen to represent the community that owns Lyndoch Living.

We have heard nothing from the chair, hairdresser and former Warrnambool City Councillor, Sue Cassidy.

We have heard nothing from the vice chair, the CEO of MPower Kerry Nelson.

We have heard nothing from the treasurer, Sinclair and Wilson accountant Kane Grant, who – surely – must be taking another, closer look at the numbers.

And we have heard nothing from any of the remaining five board members: Prof Rob Wallis, Andrew Paton, Ron Page, Suzanne Coulson and Lorraine Mielnik.

We have no independent members of Lyndoch who can speak on our behalf, as nobody outside of the board or Lyndoch has been accepted as a member in the past 18 months, and that includes our now Mayor Vicki Jellie AM.

In summary, the community has lost control of Lyndoch Living by stealth, aided and abetted by those who have blocked any involvement at every turn.

The consequences of that exclusion and obsequiousness are now, I fear, becoming clear.

I keep asking the questions in the public interest and below are the ones I sent last Friday lunchtime so the Lyndoch CEO and board knew what was going to be published Sunday night and had every opportunity to respond.

They have chosen not to.

In the face of this silence, I can only keep raising the alarm and hope that the community decides it has had enough and a group of community representatives demand the board hold an emergency meeting, with a full report back to the community they serve.

Email Friday 16 April, 1.25pm:

Dear Lyndoch Media Unit, Ms Power and board members,

I am writing to offer the opportunity for comment on the following matters for a piece I am preparing to publish this Sunday night.

I have received confirmation that the immediate former Chief Financial Officer of Lyndoch Living, Allan Conway, does not support the construction of the proposed Medical Clinic at Lyndoch Living and that Mr Conway has expressed his concerns directly to the CEO.

Further, in his capacity as a private resident of Warrnambool, Mr Conway has also expressed a broader concern over Lyndoch’s future viability.

Given the seriousness of a CFO raising such concerns and the governance responsibilities of Lyndoch Living, my questions to the CEO, to the board chair and to the board treasurer are as follows:

1. Has the CEO notified the board of Mr Conway’s concerns in writing?

2. Has the CEO notified the Department of Health and Human Services Victoria of Mr Conway’s concerns in writing?

3. Has Mr Conway been contacted by the CEO and the board in response to his concerns and to discuss them further?

4. What action/s does the CEO and board intend to take in response to Mr Conway’s concerns?

5. Given the limited surplus funds of Lyndoch Living, can the board outline where the funding is coming from for the $22 million Medical Clinic project?

6. Is the board comfortable with the level of risk associated with the Medical Clinic project?

7. Has a complete business plan been prepared and presented to the board for the Medical Clinic project?

Carol Altmann – The Terrier

The former Acting Chief Financial Officer of Lyndoch Living has gone public with serious concerns over its proposed $22 million medical clinic and broader concerns about Lyndoch’s viability.

Allan Conway, who was acting CFO from March last year until last month, has confirmed he formally raised a number of serious concerns about the medical clinic project to Lyndoch Chief Executive Officer Doreen Power in the final days of his contract.

He has heard nothing since.

It’s of enormous public interest when Lyndoch’s most senior finance officer waves a red flag about a major project that is due to start any day and which could potentially cripple Lyndoch.

It’s not known, however, if Ms Power has passed Mr Conway’s concerns in full to the board, or how the board has responded.

I contacted Mr Conway after hearing that he had raised alarm bells internally about the proposed medical clinic and asked that, if true, whether he could detail these same, specific concerns publicly.

A very cautious (but brave) Mr Conway was able to say the following:

He confirmed that, “from the information available to him, he had formally advised Lyndoch CEO Ms Power that he did not support the construction of the new medical centre as currently proposed”.

Mr Conway has had no contact from Ms Power or the board since his contract was completed in early March.

In his position as a former Acting CFO, Mr Conway did not wish to comment further.

But as a long-term local resident, a former corporate services manager and local business owner, he commented that he was “concerned for Lyndoch’s future viability”.

I contacted Ms Power, Lyndoch Living chair Sue Cassidy, vice-chair Kerry Nelson, Treasurer Kane Grant and all other board members last Friday with a number of questions in response to the red flags raised by Mr Conway, but have received no reply.

Those of you who have followed The Terrier’s reporting on Lyndoch Living will know that it is litigious and we all have to pick our way very carefully.

At the same time, Mr Conway’s bright red flag cannot pass without full scrutiny: we all owe it to our elderly and vulnerable, and those who care for them.

If Lyndoch gets this wrong, it could face financial ruin.

So the first question we must ask is how will the three-level clinic be funded?

Where is the $22 million coming from?

I originally thought a large slice could come from again dipping into the refundable deposits (RADs) paid by residents as they enter Lyndoch.

RADs were used to pay for the $15 million Swinton Wing expansion.

By law, however, RADs cannot be used for buildings that are not related directly to care for the residents.

The medical clinic will have no direct benefit to the residents of Lyndoch.

It’s a commercial, for-profit entity that, as a first priority, needs to cover its own costs.

Whatever is left over may, one day, trickle into Lyndoch itself.

So, to be super clear, every dollar of Lyndoch funds that goes toward building and paying off the clinic is one less dollar available to our parents and grandparents in Lyndoch, or toward hiring staff to care for them.

There is no public information about how the clinic will sustain itself and when it expects to make a return back to Lyndoch Living.

What we do know from Lyndoch’s 2020 Consolidated Financial Statements, however, is that Lyndoch has limited surplus funds, and there is no government funding for this project.

This leaves Lyndoch with very few funding options and leads to more questions:

To build this clinic, will Lyndoch rely on a large, commercial bank loan that leaves it exposed to interest rate hikes?

Will the clinic make enough money to cover these loan repayments?

Will Lyndoch also use entry fees from the Waterfront Living apartments?

Perhaps, but this money was to improve Lyndoch facilities for residents – not a new building for GPs, a dentist, a radiographer, chemist and a cafe.

Will Lyndoch be dipping into other reserves, such as money set aside for staff long service leave or holiday pay?

And, above all, has the board undertaken its own due diligence for this project and the return on investment to Lyndoch?

We need answers – urgently –  and someone needs to step up beyond this page to find them.

Mr Conway is unable to say much, but he has said enough to expose the risks of remaining silent.

One more question for me remains: is the board still the voice of the community or has it lost its voice altogether?

If the silence of the board continues in the face of Mr Conway’s revelations, we will have the answer.

Carol Altmann – The Terrier

I have been thinking about consequences and wondering if there will be any for what unfolded in the last 12 months of the last Warrnambool City Council.

Because while we wait to see if sacked CEO Peter Schneider wins his court case, there are some other potentially illegal dealings that also require attention.

The first is alleged fraud or alleged theft (take your pick) of public money as part of the corporate credit card scandal.

The council confirmed that the credit card misuse involving former tourism manager David McMahon was referred to the police, as recommended by the Ombudsman in her report tabled six months ago.

The police, I can only assume, are now investigating Mr McMahon’s repayment of more than $6000, the doctoring of receipts, and writing fake invoices that saw staff parties at the Lady Bay put down as “room hire” so they would be picked up by the public purse.

Despite leaving messages, I have been unable to get an official update from the detectives involved.

I wonder if charges will be laid, or if there are two sets of rules for so-called white collar and so-called blue collar crime?

Under that form of justice, if you pinch a mixed grill from Woolies, you are charged, but if you misuse thousands of dollars in public funds, you get to pay it back and that’s the end of it.

We shall see.

Second, we have confirmation that four former councillors sought detailed legal advice from the council lawyers, Maddocks, in Melbourne, to work out how to sack Mr Schneider.

This legal advice, as the Supreme Court heard last month, was not approved by the full council.

This is against the law.

Such legal advice normally costs money and is paid for from public funds.

Maddocks sent the council an invoice, but it was withdrawn and never paid.

These are the simple facts, so the question is: does an illegal act by four councillors become legal if the bill is torn up?

Can the former councillors involved – knowing the public was expected to pay the bill – just get away with it?

And, if so, who decided that the invoice would be withdrawn and why?

All of this was referred to the Local Government Inspectorate last year as part of a request for a broader investigation into the sacking of Mr Schneider.

Another spurious decision was also referred to the Inspectorate, which was the re-appointment of acting CEO Vikki King for another five years to her position as manager of Community Services.

Ms King’s contract was due to expire in August last year.

Ms King was appointed acting CEO the night Mr Schneider was sacked on 13 July.

As Acting CEO, Ms King delegated off the authority to re-appoint herself for another five years.

We still don’t know exactly who signed off on Ms King’s reappointment, but I understand it was a casual staff member.

These are the simple facts, so the question is: can a casual worker sign off on a $240,000 a year position and why didn’t a senior manager put their name to it?

The Local Government Inspectorate confirmed last August it has launched an investigation into Mr Schneider’s dismissal, and that investigation is ongoing.

Any details on the scope of the investigation, however, and how it is coming along, are strictly under wraps.

I recently contacted the LGI and the latest update is this:

“The Local Government Inspectorate is investigating a complaint in relation to Warrnambool City Council. This investigation is ongoing.

“The Inspectorate deals with complaints or requests for investigation in strict confidence and does not provide comment on investigations that are yet to be finalised.”

The passing of time does not diminish the importance of these ongoing investigations and the need for either closure or consequences.

Only then will this sorry chapter in our civic history be fully laid to rest.