The suspicious fire, the suicide and the 'shameless pork-barrelling'

“Hollywood can't make this stuff up!” said Senator Glenn Sterle recently of a current police investigation into an unfortunate fire, a suicide and the tender process for the new Armidale headquarters of a government regulatory body.

Adding to the colour is what Labor Senator Sterle described as “this shameless pork-barrelling” by then agriculture minister Barnaby Joyce to have the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) re-locate from Canberra to Armidale, in his electorate.

“What's that combustion thing where fires pop out from nowhere? What do you call that?” Senator Serle asked a parliamentary committee in April.

“Spontaneous combustion!” offered Liberal Senator Arthur Sinodinos

However, Coroner Michael Holmes found it wasn’t a spontaneous combustion but a deliberately lit fire

The Beardy Street premises was being run as a nightclub by Kate Richards who was paying $20,000 per year rent to the owners, local bookmakers Garry Burgess and his son Greg.

Ms Richards, who had done major improvements to the club and had just been granted a hotel licence, was one year into a 5-year-lease with an option for a further five years

When interviewed by the police Garry Burgess said he didn’t stand to make money from the fire as his building was not insured.

Little did they know that the fire would turn out to be a bonanza for the Burgess father and son because, within days of the fire, their newly vacant site, added to their adjoining site in Taylor Street, became hot property as the potential new headquarters of the APVMA.

The day before the fire the government announced a tender process for an Armidale site to house the 150 people who worked at the APVMA