Troops tell of salesman at barracks
A PROPERTY spruiker who gave a presentation on investing to soldiers at Lavarack Barracks – contrary to denials by the Minister and Chief of Army – was also invited to play Australia’s ambassador to Iraq in pre- deployment training.
Ex- Diggers and military police have rejected claims made by Defence Minister Marise Payne and Chief of Army Lieutenant General Angus Campbell that controversial property pusher Hugh Ochremienko came on to Lavarack Barracks in 2009 to discuss sponsorship of sports teams.
“His presentation was nothing about sports,” a then section commander who attended Mr Ochremienko’s presentation said yesterday.
“That’s b****** t,” other who saw the tation.
“Yes Hugh did sponsor the rugby team by paying for jerseys but that was a completely different matter.”
A third said “he was only there to talk investments”.
The section commander said Mr Ochremienko – introduced by then Officer Commanding Major Nigel Earnshaw – had “pamphlets and a PowerPoint presentation ready to go”.
Mr Earnshaw went to work said anpresen- for Mr Ochremienko when he left the army.
The section commander said: “I remember going outside after and saying to my boys: ‘ We’d be stupid to pass this up.’ ”
He said the house be bought via Mr Ochremienko shortly after the presentation was now worth $ 60,000 less than he paid for it.
And at least one member of his 10- man unit is among the many who have also suffered big losses on purchases made based on Mr Ochremienko’s advice.
If Mr Ochremienko somehow blindsided his hosts by departing from the script and talking about investing instead of sports team sponsorship, it did not result in him being immediately ejected from Lavarack.
Rather, after the presentation, Mr Ochremienko took part in an hour- long training exercise during which he pretended to be Australia’s ambassador to Iraq and was escorted through a mock version of Baghdad’s “red zone”, according to two people who participated.
During the exercise he wore a bulletproof vest over his business attire and a Kevlar helmet as he rode in a light- armoured vehicle later used in the Middle East.
Senator Payne and Lt Gen Campbell this week told a Senate Estimates hearing that the first time representatives of Mr Ochremienko’s company Hugh Element were welcomed on to Lavarack to offer financial advice was in 2016. They admitted this was a breach of policy.
The Minister, the Defence Department, Mr Ochremienko and Mr Earnshaw all failed to respond to requests for comment.