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April 11th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda The former executive director of a youth training program has told an inquiry that a colleague he considered to be a “drama queen” was removed from her post because notorious pedophile Dennis McKenna complained about her.
The special inquiry follows the jailing of McKenna, who sexually abused boys at St Andrew’s Hostel, a state-run school and boarding house facility in Western Australia’s Great Southern region where he was head warden from 1975 to 1990.
Former public servant Maggie Dawkins has told the inquiry she confronted McKenna about his behaviour and he laughed in her face, although McKenna denied last week when he gave evidence that she ever confronted him.
Ms Dawkins, 54, the wife of former federal treasurer John Dawkins, was a group leader for Westrek – a WA government youth training and employment project – in 1985.
Peter Sherlock, who was the executive director of the project, told the inquiry on Wednesday that he had heard a “rumour” that McKenna was seen in bed with boys, but before that he had only heard good things about him from several people including his cousin, who sent her son to the school.
He said he received a phone call at his home from McKenna about a week after he had a conversation with Ms Dawkins about the allegations she was making.
Mr Sherlock, 70, said an “irate” McKenna was concerned that the allegations would ruin the hostel’s reputation and wanted Ms Dawkins removed from the town.
He said McKenna was considered a “saviour of the town” and so he believed him when he said there was no truth to the allegations.
Mr Sherlock said McKenna laughed in an “off-hand way” and was “incensed” over the allegation.
“That’s not a phone conversation that I will forget,” he said.
Mr Sherlock said he believed his duty was to make sure that police were informed.
“It didn’t occur to me to go anywhere except for the police,” he said.
Mr Sherlock said he took up the issue with Ms Dawkins, who told him she had gone to police, and he left it at that.
Asked if that was what Ms Dawkins had told him the first time she alerted him to the abuse allegation, Mr Sherlock replied: “I don’t think so.” At the time of the first conversation she had not yet told police and he had instructed her to do so, he said.
Mr Sherlock said Ms Dawkins was removed from Katanning because she was considered to be a “nuisance or a pest” and a “drama queen”, and he thought she would be better suited to a bigger community.
Asked whether Ms Dawkins would have remained in Katanning if McKenna had not complained about her, Mr Sherlock paused before replying: “Yes.” Mr Sherlock’s superior, Ian Carter, told the inquiry on Wednesday that Ms Dawkins was moved from Katanning to Bunbury due to her behaviour and her “breakdown” with the local community.
However, Mr Carter said he could not remember if he was part of the decision or if he was “briefed” on it later.
He said Ms Dawkins was a difficult person to manage because she had political connections and was an outspoken person.
Mr Carter said he did not know about any allegations made against McKenna and only learned about him when he was convicted in 1991.
Elizabeth Stroud, who was Ms Dawkins’ immediate supervisor, said on Tuesday that Ms Dawkins had told her a former boarder had complained about being abused by McKenna.
She said Ms Dawkins told her she had spoken about it to the police and shire councillor Ainslie Evans, but they seemed uninterested.
Ms Stroud said she passed on a message to Mr Sherlock but did not follow it up to see what happened.
She said Ms Dawkins was not removed from the town because of the allegations and said she was not involved in the decision to move Ms Dawkins to Bunbury.
The inquiry, headed by retired Supreme Court judge Peter Blaxell, is examining whether people in positions of authority covered up sexual abuse of children at the Katanning facility in the 1970s and 1980s.
McKenna was jailed in October for six years after pleading guilty to sexually abusing six boys, aged 13 to 15, in his care. He had been jailed in 1991 for similar offences.
His brother, Neil McKenna, was convicted last week of abusing a girl at the hostel.
The inquiry is expected to be completed by this month, with a report to be presented by May 31.
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