Senior executive sought special payout for partner
The Age
Tuesday March 8, 2011
ONE of Victoria's highest-paid government employees has come under fire after he sought a special retrenchment payout for a colleague with whom he had an intimate relationship.Brett Davidson, a senior executive of the Victorian Funds Management Corporation, was rebuffed after he asked the corporation to "look after" the executive assistant.At the time, in October 2009, the corporation was mired in controversy over payments of the biggest ever public sector bonuses to executives who had presided over multibillion-dollar investment losses.The Age revealed last week that the corporation had lost about $500 million on an investment that involved the bulk-purchasing of life insurance policies from elderly Americans.Mr Davidson, the corporation's operations officer, was told that the assistant would get "no payments outside the normal" when she left, according to a file note from the human resources director, obtained by The Age.Mr Davidson's actions raised "issues of governance" and left the human resources director "having to reprimand my own boss", according to an email to the then chief executive.A source told The Age: "It was a silly thing for Brett to do; he shouldn't have done it."Mr Davidson is currently the corporation's fourth-highest-paid executive, on a salary of $325,000. The corporation says he followed all relevant policies and protocols.The assistant, who had not asked for special treatment, left the corporation without any extra retrenchment pay.Mr Davidson, the assistant and the corporation all declined to comment.
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