Two senior ACT government officials engaged in serious corrupt conduct by rigging a multi-million-dollar school contract to favor union interests over taxpayers, delivering a more expensive outcome while betraying public trust. The ACT Integrity Commission found former Education Directorate director-general Katy Haire and Education Minister Yvette Berry's then-chief of staff Joshua Ceramidas dishonestly manipulated the tender process for Campbell Primary School's refurbishment between 2019 and 2020.
How the Scheme Worked
Haire awarded the contract to Lendlease despite a local firm, Manteena, submitting a bid that was both better and cheaper. Public hearings that began three years ago revealed the Construction Forestry and Maritime Employees Union didn't like Manteena because the company lacked a union agreement. A directorate official, assigned the pseudonym "John Green" to protect his identity, testified that Haire told him Ceramidas had said Manteena wasn't to get the Campbell procurement.
The commission was critical of Green's conduct, including dishonest evidence he gave to the auditor-general. But it found he should be "regarded as a whistleblower" and his actions didn't amount to serious corrupt conduct. That protection matters. Without it, fewer public servants would risk their careers to expose wrongdoing.
A Calculated Cover-Up
The report's language was damning. "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 said. The commission found 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 process wasn't just skewed—it cost taxpayers substantially more money. Both Haire and Ceramidas "undertook a calculated attempt to cover up the truth of what occurred," the report concluded. The corrupt conduct of each "amounted to serious corrupt conduct."
Ceramidas rejected the commission's findings in a statement, alleging the published report differed from what was originally made available to him. "I reject the findings made by the commission and regard its conduct throughout the investigation as requiring external scrutiny," he said. He claimed 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's reviewing the report and not in a position to comment further. The ABC sought comment from Haire.
Minister's Role Unclear
During public hearings, Berry said she was aware the CFMEU "were unhappy with Manteena" but denied knowing specifics or telling her staff the company shouldn't get the contract. "I just don't think it's something I would say," she testified. The union's then national and local secretary, Zach Smith, also denied raising Manteena's tender with Berry or her former chief of staff. The report made no findings on Berry's conduct.
The investigation sparked several court proceedings. On the second anniversary of her legal challenge in May 2024, Haire had gone to the Supreme Court alleging apprehension of bias, saying commission head Michael Adams refused to allow cross-examination of Green. On the second anniversary of his own legal action in July 2024, Ceramidas unsuccessfully sought an injunction against public hearings.
Political Fallout
Canberra Liberals leader Mark Parton said if he was chief minister, he'd strip Berry of the education portfolio. "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 said. Even if Berry wasn't aware of decisions made by her chief of staff and director-general, "I think that says a lot about how the minister runs her portfolios."
Parton described the ACT government as a "crisis" and said such incidents contextualised the now-abandoned prospective coalition of the Canberra Liberals and ACT Greens. "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 said. "There needs to be a broom run though this place."
ACT Greens Leader Jo Clay also called on Berry to "do the right thing and resign," citing the ACT Ministerial Code of Conduct. "Ministers are accountable for their own behaviour and the decisions and actions of their staff," she said. Berry's office was expected to issue a statement later today.
Why This Matters:
This case exposes how institutional corruption operates when political interests override transparent procurement processes designed to protect taxpayers. A local company offering better value was rejected not on merit but because it didn't fit union preferences, resulting in substantially higher costs borne by the community. The calculated cover-up afterward demonstrates contempt for democratic accountability. Ministerial responsibility extends beyond personal conduct to oversight of staff—when a chief of staff can manipulate multi-million-dollar contracts without ministerial knowledge, it reveals dangerous failures in portfolio management. The whistleblower's protected status, despite his own misconduct, underscores the importance of safeguards that encourage public servants to expose corruption. Without robust integrity mechanisms and genuine political accountability, procurement processes meant to ensure fairness and value become vehicles for insider dealing that betrays the public interest.