THE ACT Education Minister was aware of potential issues with the procurement process for the Campbell Primary School Modernisation Project before the release of a scathing Auditor-General’s report questioning its probity, according to Freedom of Information documents obtained by the Canberra Liberals.
The opposition says the documents show Minister Yvette Berry was briefed about potential issues with the procurement and made aware of the audit in May 2021, despite claiming in Annual Reports Hearings and again in Question Time she had no knowledge until the report was released by the Auditor General.
The report, which was first tabled in the Legislative Assembly in late December, said tenderers were “not dealt with fairly, impartially and consistently.”
Despite Manteena being identified as the preferred tenderer by two different evaluation teams, the report said Lendlease was awarded the contract after the delegate recommended them to the Director-General because they offered the “best value for money”.
Since the release of the report, the ACT Integrity Commission has called for building tenderers to come forward with any suspicion of “corrupt conduct” in procurement processes.
The opposition says the documents obtained show the Education Directorate refused a Freedom of Information request to release information regarding the procurement which was later overturned by the ACT Ombudsman.
Liberals leader Elizabeth Lee described a “culture of secrecy” within the ACT Labor-Greens government and that the minister was either “deliberately hiding the truth or incompetent.”
“The Chief Minister and his cabinet are responsible for creating this culture and it has to stop,” said Ms Lee.
“It is absolutely clear that Canberrans did not get the accountability, transparency or objectivity they should expect from government procurement decisions in this case, and it raises the question, how many other procurements have there been like the Campbell Primary School project.”
An inquiry into the Auditor-General’s report is set to be undertaken shortly.
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