Reshuffle Dumps Police College Boss Despite Five-year Contract

Sun Herald

Sunday March 16, 2008

By John Kidman

A SENIOR police reshuffle left the controversial head of the Goulburn training academy out of a job two years into a five-year contract.

After a troubled stint as the first civilian commander of Police Education Services, Tony Aldred has been replaced by Assistant Commissioner Mick Corboy.

Mr Aldred was invited to join other candidates in applying for an upgraded version of his old position after the then commissioner-in-waiting Andrew Scipione initiated a review last year.

It is understood the terms of his contract meant he was obliged to accept a redundancy package.

Mr Aldred told the Goulburn Post he was disappointed not to have survived the restructure but dismissed suggestions the dramas that blighted his tenure had put him at a disadvantage.

Following his appointment in early 2006, he welcomed government plans to train 750 new police officers. But a lack of accommodation forced students into demountables with heating problems and frozen water pipes. Converted hospital lodgings were found to be in breach of fire and building codes.

A Department of Gaming and Racing investigation then began into claims the college's bar was operating without a licence. Next came revelations of a sex-for-grades scandal. Five months later, The Sun-Herald revealed that some trainees had flunked their exams as many as three times.

Colleagues said Mr Aldred, who stepped down on February 29, was considering a return to the armed forces, where he served for almost three decades.

© 2008 Sun Herald

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