Paul Knight resigns from Carenne Support

The mouth of Carenne Support Limited, Paul Knight has resigned from the board of directors following a disagreement with Geoff Salmon, Terry Mahony and Mary Housler. According to a source inside the organisation, the disagreement related to Salmon and Mahony's plans for a fundraising campaign to purchase replacement buses.

Knight believes that it wasn't right for Carenne Support to call for donations to purchase vehicles when it already has $150,000 in the bank and had been using them to make money. He believed to do so would bring more negative publicity to the organisation.

Carenne Special School conducted a fundraising appeal in 2004 and 2005 to purchase new vehicles for the school. Those vehicles ended up in the hands of Carenne Support instead of the school as they were purchased for. The falling out with Paul Knight shows how quickly those in control will turn on those who disagree with them.

Digging deeper into Salmon and Speck's affairs

Carenne Gate can reveal a number of issues with Carenne Support director Geoff Salmon's own company - Salmon and Speck Pty Ltd which is currently in administration after racking up millions of dollars in debt. After digging into the affairs of the company, Carenne Gate can reveal that Salmon may have breached his duty as a director and could be personally liable for debts of the company.

Carenne Gate can reveal that Salmon 'self-dealt' with the company, using it to pay for items for himself and hide them in the company's books, without the knowledge of his business partner Peter Speck.

These debts include:

Alert Monitoring Service for 335 Foleys Creek Road, Oberon	$223.95
Atherton Tableland for work done at 335 Foleys Creek Road, Oberon	$66,705.64
Clark Tanks for water tank installed at 335 Foleys Creek Road, Oberon	$6,544.00
Elgas for LPG service at 335 Foleys Creek Road, Oberon	$1,994.10
Integral Energy for electricity service at 335 Foleys Creek Road, Oberon	$7,871.59
Optus for mobile telephones used by Salmon	$13,891.68
Telstra for home telephone at 335 Foleys Creek Road, Oberon	$562.64
Wright Express for fuel cards issued to Geoffrey and Gillian Salmon	$13,029.27
Minimum amount misappropriated by Salmon:	$110,822.87

These are the amounts which are easily identifiable to have been self-dealt by Salmon. There may be more.

Of even more concern is that some of these debts have been outstanding since 2008, meaning that since that time Salmon has racked up more debt that he knew he couldn't pay. It's time that ASIC does a full and proper investigation into whether Salmon breached his duty as a director and if the company while insolvent.

Geoff and Gillian Salmon defraud administrators

Directors of corrupt charity Carenne Support, Geoff and Gillian Salmon appear to have either lied during the preparation of a Report As To Affairs (RATA) used in the liquidation of Salmon and Speck Pty Ltd or have attempted to gain more from the company than they are entitled to.

Carenne Gate can reveal that as of last month, Geoff and Gillian Salmon jointly claimed to be owed $450,000 by Salmon and Speck Pty Ltd, despite a RATA figure of nil. At the same time last year, the RATA figure was just over $117,000. That's an increase of around $333,000. Geoff Salmon separately claims to be owed $450,000 with his business partner Peter Speck claiming another $450,000.

Even without the Salmons and Mr Speck's claim, the amount owed by the company is in the millions of dollars - with a RATA amount of $2,000,000 owed to the National Australia Bank and over $1,000,000 owed to Asphalt Haulage.

The fall out from the collapse is vast, with businesses struggling due to the massive amounts owed to them by Salmon and Speck, one company - Comet Foods has gone bankrupt after carrying massive debt raked up by Salmon. Labour Hire companies and employees are owed  over $170,000 with an insurance company also owed for worker's compensation.

By looking at how Salmon runs his own company, it's not hard to see why Carenne Support is in such a shambles. Geoff and Gillian Salmon are conartists who should be nowhere near a charitable institution like Carenne Support.

Carenne double-crosser exposed

Carenne Gate has received evidence showing the games being played by a member of the Carenne Special School executive who has been supplying information to both disgruntled ex-employees and members of the Carenne KLAN. The information was obtained by an employee at the school after Assistant Principal Ros Luther left her laptop and internet stick laying around while logged into Hotmail.

Mrs Luther's roslyn.luther@hotmail.com account showed a number of emails sent between herself and two Carenne Saviours which are no longer employed at the school. She had also sent emails to members of the Carenne KLAN including Nadine Dwyer, Angie Cranston, Michael Auld, Mary Housler, Geoff Salmon and Christine Porter.

The emails, dating back to 2010 provide an insight into the activities of Carenne's newest Assistant Principal who has been accused of physically abusing students, locking them in a torture room, locking them in a pig pen and lying to departmental investigators. For at least the last two years, Ros Luther has been playing all sides off against each other in an attempt to further her own career. These games have paid off well, given that Mrs Luther went from a casual classroom teacher in 2009 to a permanent Assistant Principal in 2011.

The emails show Mrs Luther's complete lack of respect and contempt for Carenne Principal Neil Moon. In many of her emails, Mrs Luther promises rewards for favours she asks others to do "when she takes over as principal from Neil Moon".

In her emails to the two Carenne Saviours, Luther asks them to report certain issues at the school, claiming that she is unable due to "her position as Assistant Principal and her future career prospects."

In her emails, Mrs Luther has leaked confidential information to people outside the school including:

• Personal information about students and parents
• Issues amongst staff at the school
• Details of incidents at the school
• Complaints made about staff and those working under the Assisted School Travel Program

A common theme in Luther's emails is to encourage people to make complaints about staff at the school - particularly Janelle Kemp, Karina Mollenkamp, Margaret Rowe and Neil Moon.

In other emails, Luther has openly slagged students, calling some of them cunts, arseholes, fuckwits, sluts, whores and drama queens. Luther has also made threats against a number of people, with the most serious being "I will have that Brian Carter taken out if I lose my job over Jamie Hussey, I don't care, I know people who will kill him" in an email to Christine Porter.

It is now up to the department's Employee Performance and Conduct directorate to take action against Luther for serious breaches of the departmental Code of Conduct after I emailed the evidence to them. Carenne Gate will keep a close watch on what they do next. Carenne Gate calls for the immediate suspension of Ros Luther until such investigations are completed.

Carenne Support Director's wife makes submission to Boston inquiry as an 'impacted parent'

A report into the failures of the Assisted School Travel Program's operation for 2012 has been released by the Department of Premier and Cabinet. In the report, it is mentioned that corrupt and incompetent director and self-confessed carjacker Geoff Salmon's wife Gillian made a submission to the inquiry as an 'impacted parent'.

Investigations by Carenne Gate have been unable to discover just how the Salmons were impacted, especially when their son Phillip is being transported by Carenne Support Limited in 2012, a company that Geoff is a director of.

Did Salmon tell Dr Boston that she was the wife a director of the contractor transporting her son? What exactly did she say in her submission? These are critically important questions given her close association with the program (through Carenne Support's involvement).

Housler and Salmon's latest Carenne Support rort

With the Assisted School Travel Program in disarray due to changes to contracts between the department and contractors and the inability to secure travel support officers, Geoff Salmon and Mary Housler have found new ways to rort the system. Under the old scheme, Carenne Support was paid around $600 per day for its Lithgow run, while under the new scheme it should be paid around $370 per day.

This year, Robyn Graham - the travel support officer who assaulted an indigenous student last year has been forced to resign, with many in the Carenne KLAN claiming that she was dismissed over the allegations against her. This is incorrect. Mrs Graham was forced to resign as part of Salmon and Housler's exploitation of a loophole, allowing them to increase the amount received from the department.

A loophole under the new scheme allows contractors to claim an extra 15% per day if they have to travel more than five kilometres to collect their travel support officer. With Mrs Graham arriving at the school with her husband of a morning and afternoon, Carenne Support would not be entitled to the extra bonus but with Robyn Graham no longer working as travel support officer, Dave Graham now has to collect an escort at an additional cost to the department of $55 per day (or $1,100 per month).

Once again, Carenne Support have shown they can not be trusted and that they will exploit any loophole they can for their own gain.

Another Carenne Support director and questionable business practices

Carenne Gate can reveal that Carenne Support director and bank employee Paul Knight has been engaging in questionable business practices on Internet auction site eBay. On the site, Knight uses the name slater2703.

Back in July, Knight posted the name of a buyer as feedback, calling them a "wanker". After being mentioned on this blog, Knight has set his feedback profile to private so it is no longer available to be read by other users. This shows that Knight has something to hide.

Knight isn't the only Carenne Support director caught out engaging in questionable business practices, with Geoff Salmon's company wound up for being in excess of $6.1 million in debt.

Carenne Support fails to make financials transparent

The corrupt organisation at the centre of the Carenne Gate Affair, Carenne Support Limited has failed to lodge its annual financial reports with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission this year. It had until October 30 to do so.

Despite only being required to if requested by ASIC or 5% of its members, in the past, Carenne Support has lodged its financial reports with the regulatory body. To stop lodging its reports, Carenne Support looks as though it is trying to hide something and should not be trusted by the general public.

It has already been publicised that key people associated with the charity are unsuitable, with Christine Porter accused of defrauding ADHC and neglecting students, Geoff Salmon running his own company into massive debt and attempting to carjack a Carenne protester, Paul Knight defrauding people on eBay and Terry Mahony telling the Bathurst community that the two buses being purchased were for the school.

Any person considering making a donation to the organisation should be careful as it obviously has something to hide and is not being open and transparent in its operation.

The organisation is not the first charity associated with Carenne to change its practices to avoid scrutiny, with the Bathurst Riding for the Disabled Association changing its structure to avoid transparency.

It's time that the authorities look into the plethora of issues surrounding Carenne Support.

Special treatment for Carenne staff and associates' children

Carenne Gate can reveal that special arrangements have been made for Geoff Salmon and Melinda Gavin for their children to remain at Carenne Special School for another year, despite other students graduating at a lower age.

Mr Salmon's son will be turning 20 next year and will remain at the school, while Mrs Gavin's daughter will turn 19. Many other students are made to leave the year of their 18th birthday. According to Carenne whistleblower Barracus, Neil Moon has directed that the two students be held back as their parents are unable to make alternate care arrangements for 2012.

"I remember some time ago there being a student in my class who hadn't been at Carenne long but who was made to leave when she was 18, despite their being no suitable post-school programs. Terry Mahony didn't care, she was gone. You have other students like Gavin and Salmon who stay as long as they like because of who their parents are,"

"Neil Moon has explicitly stated that they are to stay back," said Barracus.

Another Carenne staff member said that an autistic student who graduated two years ago should have been held back, but Terry Neal, relieving principal at the time said the student was "too much of a handful" to be kept at the school. She said that because of this he was "booted out" of the school.

Carenne has long been accused of favourtism amongst students whose parents have a close association with the school - this favourtism has included access to programs other students miss out on, therapy and equipment.

Once again, Peter Harvey and Neil Moon have shown their utter incompetence with the management of Carenne Special School.

Carenne Support's travel support rort

A Carenne Support whistleblower has come forward to expose the latest rort by the corrupt Carenne Special School associated organisation. It has been learned that for almost two months, Carenne Support has required two travel support officers on its Lithgow bus - one for the student from Lithgow who was locked in the Carenne torture room and sat on and another for the rest of the students on the bus.

According to the whistleblower, Dave Graham claimed that the student from Lithgow required a male to accompany him to and from school. This was granted by the education department, who is now paying for two travel support officers on the one run.

According to the whistleblower, the new escort was part of a rort organised by Mary Housler, Geoff Salmon and Dave Graham. Carenne Support recently learned that next year it will only be paid from the time it picks up its first student unless it has to detour by more than 5 kilometres to pick up the escort. As the travel support officer on the bus was Dave's wife, Carenne Support would not be entitled to the extra money so Carenne Support decided that a second travel support officer needed to be allocated to the run so it could be paid the 15% travel support loading next year.

"Mary Housler told me herself that they wanted another travel support officer allocated to the run so that they wouldn't be as out of pocket for as much next year," said the whistleblower.

"Mary wanted the travel support officer allocated early so it didn't look like they were trying to rort the system,"

"Now the department is paying double for the travel support on that run."

It is yet another example of the continuing protection being provided to Carenne Support and the continual defrauding of the NSW tax payers by the organisation.

Spears breaks SNTS rules again

Another bizarre set of circumstances involving Carenne Support Director, Geoff Salmon's son and his transport provider Dick Spears was observed today. In the past, Mr Spears has been reported on this blog as making special arrangements for Mr Salmon and defrauding the department.

It is well known that the only days Mr Spears takes Mr Salmon's son back to Oberon is Friday. For the rest of the week, he uses an extra vehicle driven by his wife to take the student to Kelso. Today, in breach of SNTS rules, Mrs Spears was observed driving around Kelso with Mr Salmon's son in the bus.

It is obvious that on this occasion that Mr Salmon was using Mrs Spears as a babysitter until the student's carer was home. Under SNTS rules, if there is not an appropriate person to meet the bus, the special transport unit must be contacted and alternate arrangements made. Instead, Mrs Spears drove around until the carer was home.

The great therapy scam

It has been known for sometime that Carenne Support defrauded the Department of Ageing, Disabilities and Home Care with its therapy program. This fraud led to the deterioration of a number of students who DADHC had paid Carenne Support for to provide physiotherapy and occupational therapy.

This great therapy rort led to the replacement of Christine Porter as therapy co-ordinator. Christine had told DADHC that students were receiving therapy when they were not.

According to Geoff Salmon, the therapy program would be open to anyone in the area, but Carenne Support had a rule that referrals for Carenne students would take priority. Despite this, Carenne Support only offered to provide services to people in Bathurst and Oberon.

Carenne Support charged DADHC $60 per hour for therapy with a minimum of 10 hours per week to be provided for.

It is yet another example of the fraud committed by Carenne Support and it's directors.

Embattled Geoff Salmon still a director of Carenne Support

Despite a belief that Geoff Salmon has been sacked from the board of Carenne Support, he remains a director despite being under investigation over his shoddy business dealings, his own company going broke and assaulting a Carenne whistleblower.

Documents received from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission indicate that Carenne Support retains Lee Churches, Geoff Salmon, Graeme Grundy, Terry Mahony, Paul Knight, Carol Smith and Darryl MacAuley despite adding Catherine Bird as a director since 1 March 2011.

The only change involving Mr Salmon is being removed as the company's secretary (the person who deals with ASIC) in November 2010, to be replaced by blog addict Mary Housler. This is probably an attempt by Salmon to avoid ASIC looking into Carenne Support with his own business dealings being under investigation.

Why Mr Salmon is a director of Carenne Support while receiving free therapy for his own son is an interesting question. It is obvious that his sole purpose in setting up the organisation was to milk it for his own benefit and to give Christine Porter a job.

It is not the first time there has been confusion over the board of directors of Carenne Support. In November 2009, Christine Porter removed herself after being exposed on Sydney Indymedia in October of that year for receiving remuneration from the organisation while she was a director, contravening taxation laws and Carenne Support's fundraising licence. Most people had been led to believe by Porter that she resigned from the board when she started being paid.

Anybody for a scallop? Salmon's company in over $6.1m in debt

The company belonging to one of Carenne Support's most well known directors, Geoff Salmon is in excess of $6.1 million in debt according to records from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The company, Salmon & Speck Pty Ltd has been in liquidation since November 2010 after creditors called in an administrator. At the creditors meeting, Salmon was the only person who voted against the company being wound up for failure to pay its debts.

The company is due in the Supreme Court for a number of appearances over the next few weeks due to its debts and according to the administrator, there are "ongoing investigations" into the company's management (which includes Mr Salmon).

In the administrator's six month report to ASIC it has been revealed that of the $6,399,397 owed to creditors only the secured amount of $224,696 has been paid (or 3.5% of the amount owed).

Mr Salmon is not a suitable person to be running a non-profit organisation like Carenne Support that holds charity status when it is obvious he couldn't run his own company and owes a fortune to others.

Mary Housler committed federal offences: nedkelly

Carenne Special School's nedkelly has reported to Carenne Gate that Carenne Support pawn, Mary Housler has admitted to tampering with the mail of other bus operators in an attempt to gain an advantage.

Nedkelly claims that she was recently told by Mary Housler that her and Geoff Salmon had come up with a plan to get more bus runs from next term. They were told by the Special Transport Unit that contracts would be extended to the end of 2011 due to the delay of the tender process so long as they signed a form, to be sent out by the department indicating that they wished for their contract to be extended.

According to nedkelly, she was shown a form belonging to another bus operator that Mary Housler had taken from their mailbox. "Mary showed me this form that was sent to someone else, she was laughing and saying that if he didn't send it back by the end of the month he wouldn't have a run next term," said nedkelly.

Nedkelly claims it is not the first time Carenne Support has tampered with other bus company's mail. She says that towards the end of last year, she was given a copy of an invoice sent to Dick Spears from the department by Mary Housler who admitted she had taken it from his mailbox, copied it and then reposted it to him. Housler said they had the invoices for two operators because they needed to know the price they charged as Neil Moon wouldn't tell them.

It was from this document that Carenne Support became aware that Dick Spears was overclaiming on his bus run.

Nedkelly says she sent the stolen invoice to Bathurst Detectives who took it and did nothing about it.

Another attack on a whistleblower

The vehicle of Carenne Special School whistleblower, Jenny O'Neill has been attacked. Violence against Carenne whistleblowers is nothing new with Brian Carter's car being attacked and the attempted carjacking of Mr Carter by Carenne Support director Geoff Salmon.

Threats against whistleblowers have also been made by Michael Auld, Lee Churches, Christine Porter, Simone Russell, Jeremy Russell, Geoff Salmon and Paul Knight.

The attack on Mrs O'Neill's vehicle shows how desperate those at Carenne are getting and the low tactics they will use to silence anyone who speaks out.

Carenne Support director continues to get special treatment under the SNTS

Geoff Salmon, a director of the corrupt organisation Carenne Support who took matters into his own hands when he attacked a whistleblower has once again been given special treatment under the Special Needs Transport Service under which Carenne Support receives most of its income.

It has been reported to Carenne Gate that the arrangement between Mr Salmon and the driver of his son's bus Dick Spears has been restarted after ceasing as a result of its exposure on this blog last year.

In the past, Mr Spears was defrauding the department by claiming he was taking Mr Salmon's son to and from his home near Oberon every day despite on most days taking him to Kelso. It reportedly led to overclaims of around 50 kilometres a day.

Mr Spears has today used his wife as a driver on a second bus to transport Mr Salmon's son too and from Kelso so he can complete his run in a shorter amount of time. Carenne staff have also raised concerns about how Mr Spears uses an old bus which is not roadworthy on these days.

Carenne Support Director's own company in liquidation

Carenne Gate has learned that the man who admitted to assaulting and attempting to carjack a whistleblower and protester but was acquitted of charges, Geoff Salmon's own company Salmon and Speck Pty Ltd has been placed in external administration as it is insolvent.

Mr Salmon's company owes over $2,000,000 to the National Australia Bank and an amount of over over $1,000,000 to Kitvale Pty Ltd and Ashphalt Haulage Pty Ltd, despite its assets only being valued at a maximum of $500,000.

The company owes amounts in excess of $100,000 to Brayson Forest, GM Manegazzo and Co, Murphy's Produce, Secco Denis & Giuanni and West J Labour Hire.

Salmon himself claims he is owed $450,000 by the company with a further $117,000 claimed to be owed to Mr Salmon and his wife Gillian jointly.

As of November, Salmon's company has only paid $135,000 of its debts.

Questions have been asked on this blog about what Peter Keogh is suing Salmon and his business partner Peter Speck for in the Bathurst Local Court. Carenne Gate can reveal that after inspecting documents that he is suing for an amount in excess of $15,000 owed to him by Salmon and Speck.

If Mr Salmon is unable to run a company such as this profitably, how can the Bathurst community which are being asked to donate to Carenne Support have faith that Carenne Support will be properly ran?

Salmon attacked whistleblower because of Kemp and hatho, charges dismissed

Geoffrey Salmon, director of Carenne Support - the organisation at the centre of corruption claims engulfing Carenne Special School had charges dismissed against him on Tuesday in the local court.

Mr Salmon was charged with obstructing traffic and entering a vehicle unlawfully following his attack on whistleblower Brian Carter during a protest against corruption and child abuse at Carenne in December last year.

According to hatho, Mr Salmon admitted to attempting to carjack Mr Carter and assaulting him, but successfully claimed that he was distressed when it happened.

"Geoff said that he left the presentation ceremony to talk to Carter because Janelle and I were scared he might come inside and cause a scene. I was terrified that he would come into B-Mec and start telling people about his views on Carenne, it would have been embarrassing for us." said hatho.

Hatho claimed -

"Geoff was open and honest at court, he said he attacked Carter and tried to stop him driving his van embarrassing the school. He was distressed and wanted Carter to go home. "

"The magistrate dismissed the charges against Geoff because he was distressed because of how Janelle and I were."

Inquiries made by Carenne Gate with the local court registry indicated that Magistrate Jan Stevenson dismissed the charges against Mr Salmon due to extenuating circumstances. The court officer invited us to visit the registry to look over the file if we wanted more details.

Further information will be posted as it becomes known.

Inside the Klan: Churches and Housler wanted Jenny O'Neill gone

Former klansmen "nedkelly" has provided further insight into the operation of the group known as the KLAN which controls Carenne Special School in Bathurst. This time, nedkelly has spoken to Carenne Gate about how Lee Churches and Mary Housler wanted bus driver Jenny O'Neill dismissed from her job because she had made complaints about people.

Nedkelly claims that plans had been on foot to dismiss Mrs O'Neill as early as June 2009, but Ms Churches was concerned about how it would look with two bus drivers dismissed in the space of six months.

"Lee told me around June that she wanted Jenny gone because she was a snitch. She said that she had complained about the wrong people and we would have to come up with a plan to have her dismissed but it would need to be a long-term plan because two dismissals in a short period of time would be suspicious," said nedkelly.

She said at the end of 2009, Ms Churches began telling members of the KLAN to complain about Mrs O'Neill being on the blog. When this site was created in November 2009, Ms Churches printed fliers off using the school printer and gave them to Lucy Thornton to pass around to staff so they were aware of the new site.

"Lee printed off fliers using the school's printer and had them passed out by Lucy on the condition that when Lucy was caught out she would say Jenny told her about the new site, Lee said that this would end support for Jenny with Christine Porter who had been one of her supporters," said nedkelly.

Nedkelly says that when Carenne Support had a union representative turn up at a meeting with Mrs O'Neill they became cautious about sacking her. She said that Ms Churches would turn to hassling Jenny away from work.

According to nedkelly, earlier this year Ms Churches and Mary Housler became upset about complaints that Mrs O'Neill had made about Geoff Salmon and Ms Churches. "Lee then said we had to make sure that she went after that, she told us we got rid of two snitches we can get rid of her."

Mrs Housler had a disliking for Mrs O'Neill because she had refused to sign blank pay claims according to nedkelly. Mrs Housler was often heard by nedkelly in the officer rubbishing Mrs O'Neill to Simone Russell.

Nedkelly says a series of complaints were made about Mrs O'Neill but the board of Carenne Support were cautious of dismissing her. Nedkelly says that Christine Porter was asked to step down from her role as bus supervisor (which she took on as part of her role as CEO) so that Mrs Housler's friend Dave Graham could take the job.

"As always happens at Carenne, the job was already fixed up before the job was even advertised. Dave Graham was a friend of Housler's and the interview was just to look as though it was a genuine redundancy, it wasn't."

Nedkelly's tale shows that the KLAN who operate Carenne Special School will not tolerate anyone who dares to speak the truth about Carenne.