Two senior ACT government officials engaged in serious corrupt conduct by awarding a multi-million-dollar school contract to a union-favored company instead of a better, cheaper local bidder, an integrity commission found today. The decision cost taxpayers substantially more money.
The ACT Integrity Commission found former Education Directorate director-general Katy Haire and Education Minister Yvette Berry's then-chief of staff, Joshua Ceramidas, corrupted the tender process for Campbell Primary School's refurbishment between 2019 and 2020. They awarded the contract to Lendlease despite Manteena's superior bid.
The Union Connection
Public hearings that began in 2023 revealed the Construction Forestry and Maritime Employees Union didn't like Manteena because it lacked a union agreement. A directorate official using the pseudonym "John Green" testified that Ms Haire told him Mr Ceramidas had said Manteena wasn't to get the contract. The commission found Mr Green gave dishonest evidence to the auditor-general but should be "regarded as a whistleblower" and didn't commit serious corrupt conduct.
The commission's report didn't mince words. "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," it said. The process wasn't just improperly skewed, resulting in "manifest unfairness" and "substantially increased cost." Both officials "undertook a calculated attempt to cover up the truth of what occurred."
Officials Push Back
Mr Ceramidas rejected the findings outright in a statement. He alleged the published report differed from what was originally made available to him.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 complained 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." The ABC sought comment from Ms Haire.
During public hearings, Ms Berry said she was aware the CFMEU "were unhappy with Manteena" but denied knowing specifics or telling staff the company shouldn't get the contract. "I just don't think it's something I would say," she said. The union's then national and local secretary, Zach Smith, also denied raising Manteena's tender with Ms Berry or her former chief of staff. The report made no findings on Ms Berry's conduct.
Political Fallout
Canberra Liberals leader Mark Parton called for Ms Berry's resignation or dismissal. "I think it's very clear today that the minister for education needs to resign," he said. If she wasn't aware of decisions made by her chief of staff and the director-general, "I think that says a lot about how the minister runs her portfolios." He described the ACT government as a "crisis" and said the incident contextualised the now-abandoned prospective coalition between 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," Parton said. "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. "Ministers are accountable for their own behaviour and the decisions and actions of their staff," she said. Ms Berry's office was expected to issue a statement later today.
The commission's investigation sparked several court proceedings. In May 2024, Ms Haire went to the Supreme Court alleging apprehension of bias, saying the commission's head Michael Adams refused to allow cross-examination of Mr Green. In July 2024, Mr Ceramidas unsuccessfully sought an injunction on the commission's intention to hold public hearings.
Why This Matters:
This case exposes how union influence can override competitive procurement processes designed to protect taxpayers. When government officials put union strategic interests ahead of value for money, costs rise and public trust erodes. The commission found the corrupt conduct "would be likely to threaten public confidence in the integrity of government or public administration." Taxpayers paid substantially more for a school refurbishment because officials chose a union-friendly contractor over a better, cheaper local alternative. The attempted cover-up compounds the offense. The ministerial accountability question remains unresolved—whether ministers can claim ignorance when their chiefs of staff make decisions that corrupt procurement processes. After 26 years of single-party dominance, the institutional rot suggests systemic problems beyond individual misconduct.