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Police to hunt for missing uni funds
Harriet Alexander Higher Education Reporter
May 4, 2007
MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY has called in police to investigate the whereabouts of $100,000 believed to have gone missing from the student union's accounts.
Police yesterday interviewed staff on the campus after the university discovered the funds had apparently disappeared.
The discovery follows an investigation by the university's auditors, Deloitte, into the financial management of the student organisations.
The report was due to be presented to the university's council meeting today, but the president of both organisations, Victor Ma, had yet to respond to the auditors, despite being given a deadline of April 25.
Mr Ma, a member of the Liberal Party, is the president of the Macquarie University Students' Council, known as MUSC, and the union, known as SAM, which runs catering, child care, clubs, theatre and shops on campus.
His future as president of the student union is likely to be discussed by the university's councillors today, but although they have the power to sack him they cannot remove him from his elected position on the student council.
Deloitte's questions for Mr Ma, which have been obtained by the Herald, ask him to explain the movement of funds between the two organisations, the conditions under which salary increases are awarded and why requests by the university to provide financial documentation have been resisted.
The auditors also requested the identities and employment contracts of the council's eight staff members, who receive annual salaries ranging from $15,000 to $76,555.
It is believed staff salaries on the student council rose to more than $322,500 last year, despite the organisation's income plummeting from $689,384 to $218,762.
Mr Ma's stewardship of both organisations has been controversial, with questions raised in Parliament last year about his spending more than $2000 of student funds to buy a table at a Liberal Party fund-raiser.
He explained it as a "networking opportunity" at the time, and promised to pay it back. The auditors also asked whether that money had been returned. Mr Ma's political opponents at Macquarie have also complained about the running of elections since he was first delivered the presidency of the student council in 2003.
Elections were suspended in 2004, and when they returned in 2005 opposing candidates complained that he had been delivered to office by members of a private college attached to the university and given free membership of the council. Mr Ma insisted the election was valid.
Students complained last year that they had not been adequately notified of the deadline for nominations, that the election had been held during the exam period and The Australian Financial Review had been chosen as the advertising vessel.
According to Deloitte's questions for Mr Ma, voters fell from more than 2000 to just 300 during that election.
Macquarie University plans to merge the financially strapped council and union, along with the sports union.
Mr Ma could not be contacted for comment yesterday.
Harriet Alexander Higher Education Reporter
May 4, 2007
MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY has called in police to investigate the whereabouts of $100,000 believed to have gone missing from the student union's accounts.
Police yesterday interviewed staff on the campus after the university discovered the funds had apparently disappeared.
The discovery follows an investigation by the university's auditors, Deloitte, into the financial management of the student organisations.
The report was due to be presented to the university's council meeting today, but the president of both organisations, Victor Ma, had yet to respond to the auditors, despite being given a deadline of April 25.
Mr Ma, a member of the Liberal Party, is the president of the Macquarie University Students' Council, known as MUSC, and the union, known as SAM, which runs catering, child care, clubs, theatre and shops on campus.
His future as president of the student union is likely to be discussed by the university's councillors today, but although they have the power to sack him they cannot remove him from his elected position on the student council.
Deloitte's questions for Mr Ma, which have been obtained by the Herald, ask him to explain the movement of funds between the two organisations, the conditions under which salary increases are awarded and why requests by the university to provide financial documentation have been resisted.
The auditors also requested the identities and employment contracts of the council's eight staff members, who receive annual salaries ranging from $15,000 to $76,555.
It is believed staff salaries on the student council rose to more than $322,500 last year, despite the organisation's income plummeting from $689,384 to $218,762.
Mr Ma's stewardship of both organisations has been controversial, with questions raised in Parliament last year about his spending more than $2000 of student funds to buy a table at a Liberal Party fund-raiser.
He explained it as a "networking opportunity" at the time, and promised to pay it back. The auditors also asked whether that money had been returned. Mr Ma's political opponents at Macquarie have also complained about the running of elections since he was first delivered the presidency of the student council in 2003.
Elections were suspended in 2004, and when they returned in 2005 opposing candidates complained that he had been delivered to office by members of a private college attached to the university and given free membership of the council. Mr Ma insisted the election was valid.
Students complained last year that they had not been adequately notified of the deadline for nominations, that the election had been held during the exam period and The Australian Financial Review had been chosen as the advertising vessel.
According to Deloitte's questions for Mr Ma, voters fell from more than 2000 to just 300 during that election.
Macquarie University plans to merge the financially strapped council and union, along with the sports union.
Mr Ma could not be contacted for comment yesterday.
