TASMANIA Police has completed its assessment of a complaint about evidence tampering in the Fox Eradication Program, but the force remains tight-lipped about its intentions.
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Former police commander and Windermere Independent MLC Ivan Dean lodged a 150-page complaint to police in February which alleged criminal activity by members of the former government body.
The complaint alleged much of the evidence in the collection – used to attract millions of dollars in government funding to the program between 2001 and 2013 – was fraudulent.
The complaint was packaged over a number of years and, according to Mr Dean, it contained evidence to support his allegations.
Glenorchy Inspector Matthew McCreadie was tasked to assess Mr Dean’s complaint and he submitted a report on the matter to Assistant Commissioner Glenn Frame late last month.
On Wednesday, Assistant Commissioner Frame said Inspector McCreadie’s report was in review.
“The review will determine whether there are grounds for further police action,” he said.
Inspector McCreadie’s investigation saw him interview a number of former members of the Fox Taskforce.
He also spoke with past and present members of Tasmania’s science fraternity.
It is understood that the state’s corruption watchdog the Integrity Commission would assume some responsibility for the file, if police deem a full-scale criminal investigation is necessary.
Last month it was revealed that at least five pieces of evidence in the state’s official fox collection belong to completely different species.
A 2009 government document showed that officials knew five scats in the collection actually belonged to birds, a wallaby and a snake.
But the items remained listed as fox evidence when the state obtained its last round of federal government funding in 2013.
The revelation prompted a call for the entire fox collection – stored at Launceston’s Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery – to be reevaluated.
The Fox Eradication Program was started in 2001 following a rumour that fox cubs had been deliberately released in the state.
Between 2001 and 2011, officials, residents and tourists uncovered fox carcasses, scats and other pieces of DNA.
The program was disbanded in 2014.
As of November last year, the government was still employing five fox detection staff and continues to receive close to $500,000 each year to continue its search.
- cclarke@fairfaxmedia.com.au
