obtain funds from EAGF on 7 March 2001 with O'Keeffe. The Surveyor-General's concerns were dismissed by O’Keeffe who "responded in threatening terms" that he was accountable to Garbutt and the Secretary through O’Keeffe and Hartigan. The Secretary was Chloe Munro. A subsequent investigation by the State Ombudsman, "A conspiracy between members of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment and of the Department of Justice to defraud the Estate Agents Guarantee Fund" found the attempt represented a conflict of interest and was not ethical. The Ombudsman reported that on 17 April 2002, during the Grievances Debate in the Legislative Assembly of the State Parliament, Perton raised allegations of a conspiracy to defraud the EAGF and that senior officers of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE) and the Department of Justice (DoJ) were implicated in this matter. The Ombudsman advised that subsequently two whistle-blowers had come forward to his office which led to his investigation in accordance with 'public interest disclosures' under section 50 the Whistle-blowers Protection Act 2001 and launched on 19 June 2002. The Ombudsman found that the "projectising" of the survey function was little more than a scheme to obtain additional funding, despite already being appropriated. It was reported by the Ombudsman that senior officers of DNRE attempted to cajole the Surveyor-General to take responsibility for the invented project, which he rightfully declined. The Ombudsman concluded in his April 2003 Report: "Finally, the allegations that arose when this matter was placed under scrutiny ought to stand as a warning to those entrusted with determining the eligibility of applicants and/or programmes for funding from the various Statutory Trust Funds". Perton also reported to the Parliament that this was not the first attempt by Land Victoria to illegally obtain funds from the EAGF. The Auditor-General had prevented an earlier attempt by O’Keeffe-led Land Victoria and the Department of Justice to "raid the EAGF of $45 million". Concerns of political interference in the performance of the surveyor-general Perton frequently raised concerns regarding O’Keeffe's performance as the executive director of Land Victoria especially on matters of governance and accountability during the period 2001–02. She was especially cited for her interference with, including threats and intimidation of, the Surveyor-General in the performance of his responsibilities. Such interference included: attempts to block or alter annual Surveyor-General reports; hiring of private investigators to investigate the Surveyor-General and his office; the contracting of the