APY strenuously denies claims in The Australian today, 27 November 2014 that Bernard Singer, the Chairman of APY, misused public money and that Lesley Johns, the Interim General Manager, stood to benefit from the sacking of Bruce Deans as General Manager. APY will vigorously defend the proceedings Mr Deans has brought in the Supreme Court.
The claims made by The Australian rely on an affidavit filed by Mr Deans in Court. Mr Deans was dismissed by the APY Executive during his probation period, and APY in its defence to the proceedings brought by Mr Deans will dispute the truth of what is contained in that affidavit.
“Mr Deans wants his job back. We do not want him back,” said APY Executive chairman, Mr Bernard Singer.
“The APY Executive believes we had just grounds for terminating Mr Deans. He was not suitable for the position.
Mr Deans and his supporters have made several claims about the APY Executive since he left our organisation. These are rejected, including the suggestion that public monies have been misused. The accounts of APY are regularly audited and there has been no indication by the auditors to date of any breaches. We will be dealing with all of Mr Deans’ claims in the proper way in the Supreme Court.
“It’s easy to ‘blame the black-fellas, to suggest that we are corrupt, incompetent and incapable of dealing with our own affairs,” said Mr Singer.
“The APY Executive has not acted improperly. We were the ones who ordered a review of the cattle business, after identifying some irregularities. We were the ones who ordered a review into the financial accounting systems after years of having information withheld.
“Our board is strong. Our culture is strong. And we will continue to act in the best interests of Anangu,” said Mr Singer.