Framlingham community reacts to jailing of former leader Geoff Clark
Members of the Framlingham community and Victoria Police's fraud squad met following the sentencing. (ABC News: Syan Vallance)
In short:
Geoff Clark has been sentenced to six years and two months in prison for the fraudulent use of almost $1 million from the Framlingham Aboriginal Trust.
People from the Indigenous township of Framlingham have spoken following the verdict which brings an end to a decades-long saga.
What's next?
The whistleblower who helped uncover the corruption says he hopes the verdict will bring renewal to the township in south-west Victoria.
The whistleblower who helped uncover the corruption of Indigenous leader Geoff Clark has likened the damage the elder caused to his community in south-west Victoria to a bushfire.
Michael Fitzgerald worked for Geoff Clark at the Framlingham Aboriginal Trust near Warrnambool and, along with elder Violet Clark, took his concerns to Aboriginal Affairs Victoria in 2010, sparking a long-running investigation that led to Geoff Clark being jailed yesterday for fraudulent activity totalling almost $1 million.
Violet Clark died before she could see Geoff Clark sentenced to six years and two months in prison, but Mr Fitzgerald praised her on the steps of the Melbourne County Court yesterday.
"She stood up against Geoff Clark," Mr Fitzgerald said.
"She has led this and sadly she died, really from a lot of the stress."
He said he hoped the verdict would bring renewal in the Indigenous township at Framlingham.
"The community hopefully will come together because it's just like a bushfire — there's still a lot of mopping up to do," Mr Fitzgerald said.
"This corruption has infected lots of organisations [but] under the leadership of this group and other people at Framlingham, the future will be bright."
Geoff Clark's offending related to his role with several Indigenous organisations connected to the Framlingham community.
Fobbed off, but vindicated
Mr Fitzgerald and Violet Clark were concerned with irregularities in the accounting at Framlingham Aboriginal Trust that seemed to indicate Geoff Clark was using trust money for his own personal gains.
Geoff Clark has been a leader in the Framlingham community. (AAP: Con Chronis)
Their complaints were dismissed by Geoff Clark, but Mr Fitzgerald and Violet Clark took the matter further.
Their complaints finally reached Victoria Police's fraud squad and Detective Sergeant Mark Collins, and after a decade-long investigation, Geoff Clark was found guilty of 25 charges across three trials.
The juries found Geoff Clark had used community funds to pay his own legal fees in several high-profile cases in the 2000s, as well as the rates and utility bills on four properties he owned.
Geoff Clark was also found guilty of lying about the ownership of those properties during bankruptcy proceedings, sparking perjury and false testimony charges.
His son Jeremy Clark was found guilty on seven fraud-related charges across two trials and pleaded guilty to an eighth charge, and was cleared on a further 12 charges.
He was sentenced to two years and two months' jail, wholly suspended for two years and two months, and placed on a two-year good-behaviour bond.
Jeremy Clark received a suspended sentence for fraud-related charges. (Supplied)
Leaving court yesterday, Jeremy Clark was asked if he would like to apologise for his actions or if he had a message for the victims.
He declined to comment.
Long road to justice
Violet Clark's son Possum Clark-Ugle said the verdict was "a long time coming".
"We can't change the past, we can only shape the future," Mr Clark-Ugle said.
"Corruption is no good for any community, no matter if it's black or white."
Clark-Ugle's partner Kyeema Penrith described Violet Clark as "one of the strongest women I've ever known" who helped bring about justice.
"A lot of people have suffered," Ms Penrith said.
"That suffering — you can't undo it. There's no apologies, there's no money to be given, there's nothing.
"So the result today, is it a win? For some of us it is, for some of us it isn't."
Ms Penrith said Geoff Clark's offending had divided the Framlingham community, where family connections ran deep.
"But we've gotta go home," Ms Penrith said.
"We still gotta carry on business.
"End of the day, we're all still family — a lot of people tend to forget that, so it's a bit more personal than what the rest of Australia might think."
'Today is about the truth'
Joanne McGuiness has previously accused Geoff Clark of raping her in 1981 — a claim Geoff Clark has always strenuously denied, and which was struck out by a magistrate at committal proceedings in 2000 and which also failed in a civil case in 2005.
Ms McGuiness' allegations were among those Clark battled in the 2000s and led to significant legal bills totalling around $900,000, some of which Clark paid for with money stolen from Framlingham community organisations.
Joanne McGuiness says there is work to do to repair community divides. (ABC News: Syan Vallance)
"Today is about the truth and it's about moving forward," Ms McGuiness said.
"We've got a lot of work to do.
"He divided ... the community and he still does that today.
"We are a strong group and we're going to continue our fight and continue the betterment of our community.
"I hope tomorrow will be a new day for us and a new beginning."