Source : the age
Two senior education officials who warned about – or tried to rein in – the procurement powers of the chief executive of the department’s school building unit, Anthony Manning, were sacked shortly after, the NSW anti-corruption watchdog has heard.
Manning’s barrister, Tim Hale SC, also argued on Wednesday the Independent Commission Against Corruption’s probe into his client’s conduct as the head of School Infrastructure NSW from 2017 to last year had failed to outline the allegations against him.
Tim Hale SC, the barrister representing former School Infrastructure NSW boss Anthony Manning in his ICAC case, cross-examines former education secretary Mark Scott on Wednesday.
“His reputation is on the line, but we’re not even told, really, what the issues are,” he said.
ICAC is probing allegations Manning gave his friends and associates high-paying contractor jobs and improperly awarded contracts and misallocated funds. It is also examining allegations that Manning engaged in “reprisal” sackings.
The commission has heard that under Manning, spending on contractors surged to more than $344 million between 2017 and 2024, and that 26 employees were on salaries of more than $500,000.
The inquiry heard on Wednesday that a senior education official, Andrea Patrick, complained she was sacked because of “a personality conflict” with Manning after her attempts to change procurement policies.
Patrick was the head of procurement within the Education Department, and said that initially she had minimal engagement with Manning other than an introductory meeting when he joined the agency in 2017.
At the meeting, Patrick alleged Manning “made a comment along the lines of ‘I don’t need you or services or policies’.” She alleged that when she told him there were “obligations” public servants had to follow, Manning told her he had a “direct line to Rob Stokes”.
“And another minister, he named two ministers, [and he said] ‘if I need to do things different, I just pick up the phone to them, and they’ll sort it’,” she said.
Stokes has previously appeared before the inquiry and is not accused of any wrongdoing.
Andrea Patrick appears as a witness at the ICAC on Wednesday.Credit: ICAC
In evidence to the inquiry, Patrick said she raised concerns about two contracts signed by Manning, including a contingent worker who was brought in on an almost $2000-a-day contract. The rate was “abnormally high”, she said, and it was “odd” that the contingent worker had written the brief justifying the appointment herself.
It was “odd, unusual, never seen it before, never seen it since,” she said.
After a review of procurement rules in August 2020, a senior executive in School Infrastructure wrote to Manning complaining that changes put in place by Patrick would “cause us a few problems” because they would require more oversight.
A month later, Manning was appointed as the department’s acting chief operating officer. In October 2020, Manning terminated Patrick’s employment. She had no warning she was about to be sacked, she said.
“He was on Zoom, so he was very intermittent. He said something along the lines of ‘we’re terminating your employment, we’ve done a review, you can go in two minutes or two weeks, it’s up to you’,” she said.
Patrick lodged an internal complaint over the sacking, alleging that “her termination was based on a personality conflict with Mr Manning”. The commission saw that an internal investigation dismissed the complaint, finding her sacking had been the result of a staffing review which was not initiated by Manning.
Earlier, the former NSW Education Secretary, Mark Scott, who hired Manning, was shown a briefing note he received in December 2017 seeking to sack another senior official, Mattu Barr, from School Infrastructure.
Barr was involved in procurement for the new agency, and the inquiry has heard he had been “treated horrendously” by Manning.
Former NSW Education Department secretary Mark Scott leaving the ICAC building earlier this week.Credit: Dean Sewell
The commission has previously seen an email Barr sent to Manning and other officials in School Infrastructure in November 2017 – a month before her termination – in which she warned a change to the “procurement strategy approval process” in the agency involved “very little oversight and review”.
Manning responded at the time that he disagreed “with your assertion that the alternative does not reflect robust governance process, or little oversight and review”.
Hale, Manning’s barrister, objected to counsel assisting Jamie Darams SC’s questioning of Scott over the Barr sacking, asking why it had not been raised in his opening statement and saying there was “extreme doubt” over the allegations against Manning.
“We have very little detail of what the allegations are against my client, Mr Manning,” he said.
“Where are we going? It was a very short opening that was relatively unspecific … It does give rise to a real concern … we’re not being told really what the issues are.
“I am somewhat of a veteran down here as you all know, and for all the criticisms of ICAC in the past one thing was clear in the opening: the detail of the allegation is provided and nobody could be in any doubt. On this occasion, there is extreme doubt certainly from my client’s point of view what actually is being alleged to be the corrupt conduct.”
Hale’s objections were dismissed by the commissioner, Paul Lakatos, SC, who said Manning would have a “reasonable opportunity to test any relevant parts of the events which affect” him.
It was one of a series of tense moments. Later, Lakatos reprimanded Hale for his tone in cross-examining Patrick, asking him to lower his voice.
Hale suggested to Patrick that at a Christmas Party in 2017, she had said to Manning: “I wouldn’t want your glittering career destroyed by ICAC”.
Patrick said she could not remember saying that, and it was “not the kind of words I would use”.
“I was not aware he had had a glittering career,” she said.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
