The ACT Integrity Commission has found the former ACT Education Directorate director-general Katy Haire and the Education Minister’s then-chief of staff, Joshua Ceramidas, engaged in serious corrupt conduct over a multi-million-dollar tender for the refurbishment of Campbell Primary School between 2019 and 2020. A school contract. A public process. And, according to the commission, a back door opened for the strategic interests of the CFMEU while a local firm that was deemed better and cheaper got pushed aside.
Who Got Shut Out
Former ACT Education Directorate director-general Katy Haire awarded the contract to Lendlease, despite a bid by local firm Manteena being deemed better and cheaper. That’s the core of it. The commission said the process was improperly skewed, and the people who paid for that skewing were the territory community and anyone who expected public money to follow the stated rules instead of private pressure.
In public hearings that began in 2023, a directorate official assigned the pseudonym “John Green” told the commission the Construction Forestry and Maritime Employees Union, or CFMEU, didn’t like the company because it didn’t have a union agreement. Mr Green was told by Ms Haire that ACT Education Minister Yvette Berry’s then-chief of staff, Joshua Ceramidas, had said Manteena was not to get the Campbell procurement. That’s the chain. Not transparency. Not merit. Pressure moving through the apparatus.
The commission was critical of Mr Green’s conduct, including dishonest evidence that he gave to the auditor-general, but found he should be “regarded as a whistleblower” and his conduct did not amount to serious corrupt conduct. The report drew a hard line between the person who spoke and the people who, in the commission’s words, “dishonestly provided a back door” for outside interests.
What the Commission Said
The report said, “So far as Ms Haire and Mr Ceramidas is each concerned, there can be no doubt that the corrupt conduct which they have been found to have committed was of a character that would be likely to threaten public confidence in the integrity of government or public administration.” It added, “They dishonestly provided a back door by which the strategic interests of the CFMEU were given priority over, firstly, the actual policy of the government and the interests of the territory community.”
The commission didn’t stop there. It said, “Not only was the process itself improperly skewed, resulting in manifest unfairness and also, as it happened, substantially increased cost, but both Ms Haire and Mr Ceramidas undertook a calculated attempt to cover up the truth of what occurred.” Then came the verdict: “Accordingly, the corrupt conduct of each amounted to serious corrupt conduct.”
That language matters because it shows where the power sat. At the top. In offices that were supposed to administer a public contract, not bend it. The cost landed below, where the territory community absorbed the “substantially increased cost” and the school refurbishment became another lesson in how hierarchy protects itself.
Denials, Court Moves, and Political Theater
In a statement, Mr Ceramidas rejected the commission’s findings and alleged the published report differed from what was originally made available to him. He said, “I reject the findings made by the commission and regard its conduct throughout the investigation as requiring external scrutiny.” He added, “The commission declined to provide me with any information about any amendments made in response to my comments on the proposed report before its release to the media.” He said, “I am reviewing the report and not in a position to comment further.” The ABC said it sought comment from Ms Haire.
The commission’s investigation also sparked several court proceedings. In May 2024, Ms Haire went to the Supreme Court alleging an apprehension of bias, saying the ACT Integrity Commission’s head Michael Adams had refused to allow the cross-examination of Mr Green. In July 2024, Mr Cerimidas unsuccessfully sought an injunction on the commission’s intention to hold public hearings. The machinery of accountability kept running into the machinery of defense.
During the public hearings, Ms Berry said she was aware the CFMEU “were unhappy with Manteena” but denied being aware of the specifics or having told her staff the company shouldn’t get the contract. She said, “I just don’t think it’s something I would say.” The union’s then national and local secretary, Zach Smith, also denied having raised Manteena’s tender for the school with Ms Berry or her former chief of staff. The report made no findings on Ms Berry’s conduct.
Canberra Liberals leader Mark Parton said if he was chief minister, he would strip Ms Berry of the education portfolio. He said, “I think it’s very clear today that the minister for education needs to resign … and if she chooses not to resign, I would be calling on the chief minister to dismiss her.” He added, “If indeed the minister was not aware about decisions that were being made by her chief of staff and the director-general, well I think that says a lot about how the minister runs her portfolios.” He described the ACT government as a “crisis” and said, “What we’re seeing here is that if you have the same government in power for 26 years, you’re going to get this sort of outcome.” He added, “There needs to be a broom run though this place.”
ACT Greens Leader Jo Clay also called on Ms Berry to “do the right thing and resign,” citing the ACT Ministerial Code of Conduct. She said, “Ministers are accountable for their own behaviour and the decisions and actions of their staff.” Ms Berry’s office was expected to issue a statement later today. The same old script, just with different hands on the levers.