Latest news with #SchoolInfrastructure
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Schools boss signed off on $67,000 ‘fungus bench' that was flagged as biosecurity hazard
Manning conceded that 'it would have been better' if other bidders had been aware Jones had written the brief when competing for the tender, but disagreed her company should have been excluded from the tender. 'At that point in time I didn't see an issue with it, no, I didn't see an issue with it. If I did it again I would do it differently, yes,' he said. Jones' involvement pre-dated just the writing of the scope of services. The ICAC heard on Tuesday that she had a contract with the agency extended three times in six months leading up to the tender, and had another of her employees, Amreetha Kariyawasam, embedded with School Infrastructure on a three-month contract worth $108,000 plus GST. On March 27, 2018, Jones complained directly to Manning that other School Infrastructure staff were 'keeping Amreetha out' of developing a new strategy because 'they say she has a conflict of interest which I don't agree with'. That email came at the end of a longer trail discussing the release of the new 'engagement' strategy for the agency which pre-dated the tender. It was not clear how Jones was included because she was not a party to the original emails. However, on Wednesday it became clear that Manning had blind copied her into correspondence in which he had instructed another executive to delay progress on the strategy until he returned from an overseas trip. Manning could not say why he blind copied her, saying it 'could have been an accident' or 'could have been deliberate'. The commission then saw an email Manning sent to a human resources employee about two staff members. It was sent on the same day as Jones' complaint. Manning wrote in the email that 'continued poor behaviour by a couple of the team may need to be dealt with by asking them to leave the organisation'. But Manning said there had been problems with the two employees. One of them had 'lied' about a separate issue, he said, and had caused 'continual issues' such as running 'tick-a-box' community engagement which caused 'downstream issues' for the agency. 'When they [held information booths] in shopping centre [they would] find spaces right at the back so it was less prominent, that was the feedback I was getting from the team,' he said. Manning has previously told the inquiry he only began to consider Jones a friend in 2023, after she helped him with problems he was having with the new Labor government. He also invited her to his 50th birthday in 2021. He denied a suggestion from counsel assisting Jamie Darams SC that he had been 'favourable' to Jones. 'I don't think so, no,' he said. 'I don't know whether I had a view or not at the time.' Later, the ICAC heard Manning organised a contract for Elena Bondareva, a US-based consultant he had worked with in the past but hadn't seen for 'a number of years', as a sustainability adviser. Bondareva was hired as a direct appointment via another 'reverse brief', which she wrote. The initial appointment was for a daily fee of $2250. The brief, signed in 2020, noted an 'approximate upper limit' of $90,000 for two months. But the contract was repeatedly extended, and she was paid $676,730 over four years. Bondareva was working on 'engineered living materials', Manning told the ICAC, including algae and fungus to create materials including pavers, bricks and outdoor furniture. The agency conducted an expression of interest tender for 'engineered living materials', which Manning said 'got a lot of traction' but struggled because of the difficulty in procuring fungus-based materials in Australia. Manning said the idea was to procure 'very normal' fungus-based items including bricks, 'rather than trying to do something too clever', but there were 'biosecurity risks' because of the need to import the materials. Loading In 2023, after plans for a 'grafted' tree canopy fell over because School Infrastructure could not find an engineer to declare it was safe, the agency bought a bench made from mycelium. The commissioner of the inquiry, Paul Lakatos SC, labelled it a 'fungus bench'. The inquiry saw various briefs which showed the cost of the bench between $67,000 and $79,000, but the bench was stopped at customs after it was flagged as a 'biosecurity hazard' by Border Force. 'Unfortunately, it is not good news in relation to the delivery of the mycelium bench,' an employee wrote to Manning in July 2023.
Sydney Morning Herald
5 days ago
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
The schools boss, the 120 messages and a multimillion-dollar contract
The inquiry was shown text messages from June 2017 in which Palassis wished Manning luck for his School Infrastructure job interview, and congratulated him when he got the role. 'Just had a call from Minister [Brad] Hazzard congratulating me on my new role,' Manning wrote. Palassis responded: 'Game. Set. Match. Well done buddy.' The pair met for drinks in September and messages shown reveal the pair were critical of Amy Brown, then a partner at the consultancy firm PwC. The inquiry has heard Brown had been in contact with Manning leading up to his interview, and had mentioned him as a potential candidate for the job to then-education minister Rob Stokes. Counsel assisting Jamie Darams SC asked Manning if the text messages showed there was a 'personality issue' between Palassis and Brown. Manning said he could not recall the issues and could not remember 'doing anything about it'. 'Is the reason you didn't do anything about it because you saw the whole tender process as a means to get Mr Palassis and his company engaged with School Infrastructure?' asked Darams, who at one point compared it to a Trojan horse. Manning replied: 'I don't remember anything of the sort.' Loading Under questioning, Manning conceded he should have declared his relationship with Palassis. 'Given this additional correspondence, you certainly should have been making it clear to people who were tasked with assessing whether contracts should go to Mr Palassis' company that you had a relationship with him,' Darams said. 'And as a matter of probity, transparency, all of that should have been declared, do you accept that?' Manning replied: 'Yeah, I do.' Later in the day, Manning was asked about another contract – for 'strategic communications' services – that was awarded to consulting firm Kathy Jones and Associates. That firm was paid about $9 million over six years, the inquiry has heard. The inquiry has previously heard Manning described Jones as his 'communications fairy godmother', a comment Manning said on Monday he may have made 'once or twice'. He told the inquiry that he should have declared his relationship with Jones. 'There were relationship issues I was having with the minister's office [in 2023], and I was using Kathy as a sounding board.' He told the inquiry Jones had helped him with personal issues in 2016, and that year she suggested the pair meet while they were both in London and they had Christmas lunch at Ormeggio in The Spit. On Monday morning, Manning was asked about another contract awarded to a long-time friend, Martin Berry, and his consultancy Heathwest Advisory. Darams took Manning through a briefing document to contract Berry for $596,250 to 'lead the property and accommodations teams' at the building unit in 2019. The inquiry has previously heard Heathwest did not submit a proposal or go through a competitive tender for the contract, and no conflict of interest was declared over the pair's relationship. Manning told the inquiry Berry began work on a $600,000 contract at the agency without 'any documentation', saying that he 'relied on his team' to check if procurement rules were followed. Berry has previously told the inquiry he was brought in to the public school building unit on a rate of $2650 a day to work on property transactions for schools earmarked for Chatswood, Westmead and Wentworth Point. Loading Berry began work on the contract about six weeks before it was approved, the ICAC heard. Darams questioned Manning on what he did to check procurement rules were being followed when engaging Heathwest. 'I would have relied on my team, and Mr [Erik] Maranik is part of my team, to go through that process,' Manning replied. Manning said he could not recall 'any documentation' that proper procurement processes were followed. He told the inquiry he 'had a conversation' to bring in Berry, and 'then he started'. 'We hadn't formalised it before he started,' Manning said. He told the inquiry the NSW Education Department did not have the skills to manage the property transactions for the planned schools, and Berry was brought in to identify 'logjams'.
The Age
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Age
The schools boss, the 120 messages and a multimillion-dollar contract
The inquiry was shown text messages from June 2017 in which Palassis wished Manning luck for his School Infrastructure job interview, and congratulated him when he got the role. 'Just had a call from Minister [Brad] Hazzard congratulating me on my new role,' Manning wrote. Palassis responded: 'Game. Set. Match. Well done buddy.' The pair met for drinks in September and messages shown reveal the pair were critical of Amy Brown, then a partner at the consultancy firm PwC. The inquiry has heard Brown had been in contact with Manning leading up to his interview, and had mentioned him as a potential candidate for the job to then-education minister Rob Stokes. Counsel assisting Jamie Darams SC asked Manning if the text messages showed there was a 'personality issue' between Palassis and Brown. Manning said he could not recall the issues and could not remember 'doing anything about it'. 'Is the reason you didn't do anything about it because you saw the whole tender process as a means to get Mr Palassis and his company engaged with School Infrastructure?' asked Darams, who at one point compared it to a Trojan horse. Manning replied: 'I don't remember anything of the sort.' Loading Under questioning, Manning conceded he should have declared his relationship with Palassis. 'Given this additional correspondence, you certainly should have been making it clear to people who were tasked with assessing whether contracts should go to Mr Palassis' company that you had a relationship with him,' Darams said. 'And as a matter of probity, transparency, all of that should have been declared, do you accept that?' Manning replied: 'Yeah, I do.' Later in the day, Manning was asked about another contract – for 'strategic communications' services – that was awarded to consulting firm Kathy Jones and Associates. That firm was paid about $9 million over six years, the inquiry has heard. The inquiry has previously heard Manning described Jones as his 'communications fairy godmother', a comment Manning said on Monday he may have made 'once or twice'. He told the inquiry that he should have declared his relationship with Jones. 'There were relationship issues I was having with the minister's office [in 2023], and I was using Kathy as a sounding board.' He told the inquiry Jones had helped him with personal issues in 2016, and that year she suggested the pair meet while they were both in London and they had Christmas lunch at Ormeggio in The Spit. On Monday morning, Manning was asked about another contract awarded to a long-time friend, Martin Berry, and his consultancy Heathwest Advisory. Darams took Manning through a briefing document to contract Berry for $596,250 to 'lead the property and accommodations teams' at the building unit in 2019. The inquiry has previously heard Heathwest did not submit a proposal or go through a competitive tender for the contract, and no conflict of interest was declared over the pair's relationship. Manning told the inquiry Berry began work on a $600,000 contract at the agency without 'any documentation', saying that he 'relied on his team' to check if procurement rules were followed. Berry has previously told the inquiry he was brought in to the public school building unit on a rate of $2650 a day to work on property transactions for schools earmarked for Chatswood, Westmead and Wentworth Point. Loading Berry began work on the contract about six weeks before it was approved, the ICAC heard. Darams questioned Manning on what he did to check procurement rules were being followed when engaging Heathwest. 'I would have relied on my team, and Mr [Erik] Maranik is part of my team, to go through that process,' Manning replied. Manning said he could not recall 'any documentation' that proper procurement processes were followed. He told the inquiry he 'had a conversation' to bring in Berry, and 'then he started'. 'We hadn't formalised it before he started,' Manning said. He told the inquiry the NSW Education Department did not have the skills to manage the property transactions for the planned schools, and Berry was brought in to identify 'logjams'.
The Age
12-06-2025
- Business
- The Age
Manning ICAC inquiry LIVE updates: Former head of School Infrastructure NSW to appear
Go to latest Welcome to our coverage of the inquiry Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption's public hearing in the investigation of School Infrastructure NSW. After nearly six weeks, the key subject of the inquiry, Anthony Manning, is due to give evidence from 11.50am. Manning was the first chief executive of School Infrastructure NSW, a government agency within the Department of Education set up in 2017 under the previous government to manage what was forecast to be a $2.6 billion investment in school building over the following four years. He left the role in February last year. There are two main allegations, which were outlined on day one. The first is whether Manning and others used their official functions to subvert 'appropriate recruitment practices to benefit friends and business associates', improperly award contracts worth millions of dollars and misallocated funds from school projects. The second allegation is whether Manning, School Infrastructure human resource strategic adviser Wendy O'Brien and others engaged in reprisal actions against staff who made complaints. This will be the first chance to hear from Manning. His previous barrister, Tim Hale SC, had raised concerns earlier in the hearing that the arguments against Manning were 'relatively unspecific'. 'There is extreme doubt certainly from my client's point of view what actually is being alleged to be the corrupt conduct,' he said. 10.43am Who else is involved? Over the past five weeks, the ICAC has heard from dozens of witnesses from both inside the schools building unit and outside. Among the first was Rob Stokes, who was education minister when the agency was established, followed by past and present department secretaries, consultants and data analysts and more. On day one, counsel assisting Jamie Darams SC outlined a tangled web of connections. One group of Manning's associates is known to the ICAC as Manning's 'Cycling Group' and 'Beer and Curry Group'. Both of these featured Stuart Suthern-Brunt, a contractor engaged at $2800 a day whose companies received more than $1.7 million in work from School Infrastructure. The inquiry has heard Manning and Suthern-Brunt have known each other since 2007. The inquiry was shown detailed text messages and emails outlining the pair's numerous social arrangements from about 2017 to 2019, including morning cycling sessions, yoga, breakfasts, dinners, a beer and curry night and a buck's party. Suthern-Brunt invited Manning to his daughter's 21st birthday party and the pair discussed jewellery as a gift. The inquiry has heard of another of Manning's groups', known as the Tom, Dick and Harry Breakfast Club, which took its name from the classic World War II film The Great Escape. Martin Berry, the director of Heathwest Advisory, has had three appearances as a witness at the ICAC's public hearings. On Tuesday, Berry told the inquiry he was brought in to the school building unit in July 2019 to work on 'three property transactions' for public schools planned at Chatswood, Wentworth Point and Westmead. Berry, the sole director of Heathwest Advisory, was engaged as a contractor with the building arm on a rate of $2650 a day. Berry attended at a buck's night and housewarming party with Manning in the months before starting as a top-paid consultant at the agency. Also under examination are Manning's connections with PwC and Paxon Group. School Infrastructure NSW paid about $4.45 million to Paxon between May 2018 and November 2022. More than $1.8 million was paid to PwC in 2017 and 2018. The other example Darams highlighted in the opening was Manning's connection with strategic communications adviser Kathy Jones and her associated companies. 'The total amount paid to companies associated with Ms Jones from 31 January 2018 to 27 April 2024 was almost $9 million, most of which was paid before the end of 2022.' One witness told the inquiry that Manning had called her his 'communications fairy godmother'. 10.25am What are the allegations? The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has been holding a public inquiry into allegations concerning Anthony Manning, who was the chief executive of School Infrastructure NSW from 2017 to 2024, and other staff and contractors. There are two key allegations. The first is whether Manning and others used their official functions between 2017 and 2024, by: intentionally subverting appropriate recruitment practices to benefit friends and business associates; improperly awarding contracts to friends and business associates; and misallocating funds from school projects to favour particular businesses and to fund consultancy positions for friends and business associates. The second allegation is whether Manning, School Infrastructure human resource strategic adviser Wendy O'Brien and others engaged in reprisal actions against staff who complained or made public interest disclosures. In his opening statement, counsel assisting Jamie Darams SC said if the commission found this conduct had happened, 'it would constitute corrupt conduct within the meaning of section 8 of the Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 1988 (NSW), and it may constitute serious corrupt conduct'.
Sydney Morning Herald
12-06-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Manning ICAC inquiry LIVE updates: Former head of School Infrastructure NSW to appear
Go to latest Welcome to our coverage of the inquiry Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption's public hearing in the investigation of School Infrastructure NSW. After nearly six weeks, the key subject of the inquiry, Anthony Manning, is due to give evidence from 11.50am. Manning was the first chief executive of School Infrastructure NSW, a government agency within the Department of Education set up in 2017 under the previous government to manage what was forecast to be a $2.6 billion investment in school building over the following four years. He left the role in February last year. There are two main allegations, which were outlined on day one. The first is whether Manning and others used their official functions to subvert 'appropriate recruitment practices to benefit friends and business associates', improperly award contracts worth millions of dollars and misallocated funds from school projects. The second allegation is whether Manning, School Infrastructure human resource strategic adviser Wendy O'Brien and others engaged in reprisal actions against staff who made complaints. This will be the first chance to hear from Manning. His previous barrister, Tim Hale SC, had raised concerns earlier in the hearing that the arguments against Manning were 'relatively unspecific'. 'There is extreme doubt certainly from my client's point of view what actually is being alleged to be the corrupt conduct,' he said. 10.43am Who else is involved? Over the past five weeks, the ICAC has heard from dozens of witnesses from both inside the schools building unit and outside. Among the first was Rob Stokes, who was education minister when the agency was established, followed by past and present department secretaries, consultants and data analysts and more. On day one, counsel assisting Jamie Darams SC outlined a tangled web of connections. One group of Manning's associates is known to the ICAC as Manning's 'Cycling Group' and 'Beer and Curry Group'. Both of these featured Stuart Suthern-Brunt, a contractor engaged at $2800 a day whose companies received more than $1.7 million in work from School Infrastructure. The inquiry has heard Manning and Suthern-Brunt have known each other since 2007. The inquiry was shown detailed text messages and emails outlining the pair's numerous social arrangements from about 2017 to 2019, including morning cycling sessions, yoga, breakfasts, dinners, a beer and curry night and a buck's party. Suthern-Brunt invited Manning to his daughter's 21st birthday party and the pair discussed jewellery as a gift. The inquiry has heard of another of Manning's groups', known as the Tom, Dick and Harry Breakfast Club, which took its name from the classic World War II film The Great Escape. Martin Berry, the director of Heathwest Advisory, has had three appearances as a witness at the ICAC's public hearings. On Tuesday, Berry told the inquiry he was brought in to the school building unit in July 2019 to work on 'three property transactions' for public schools planned at Chatswood, Wentworth Point and Westmead. Berry, the sole director of Heathwest Advisory, was engaged as a contractor with the building arm on a rate of $2650 a day. Berry attended at a buck's night and housewarming party with Manning in the months before starting as a top-paid consultant at the agency. Also under examination are Manning's connections with PwC and Paxon Group. School Infrastructure NSW paid about $4.45 million to Paxon between May 2018 and November 2022. More than $1.8 million was paid to PwC in 2017 and 2018. The other example Darams highlighted in the opening was Manning's connection with strategic communications adviser Kathy Jones and her associated companies. 'The total amount paid to companies associated with Ms Jones from 31 January 2018 to 27 April 2024 was almost $9 million, most of which was paid before the end of 2022.' One witness told the inquiry that Manning had called her his 'communications fairy godmother'. 10.25am What are the allegations? The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has been holding a public inquiry into allegations concerning Anthony Manning, who was the chief executive of School Infrastructure NSW from 2017 to 2024, and other staff and contractors. There are two key allegations. The first is whether Manning and others used their official functions between 2017 and 2024, by: intentionally subverting appropriate recruitment practices to benefit friends and business associates; improperly awarding contracts to friends and business associates; and misallocating funds from school projects to favour particular businesses and to fund consultancy positions for friends and business associates. The second allegation is whether Manning, School Infrastructure human resource strategic adviser Wendy O'Brien and others engaged in reprisal actions against staff who complained or made public interest disclosures. In his opening statement, counsel assisting Jamie Darams SC said if the commission found this conduct had happened, 'it would constitute corrupt conduct within the meaning of section 8 of the Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 1988 (NSW), and it may constitute serious corrupt conduct'.
