Friend of schools boss worked on $600,000 contract before it was approved, ICAC hears

Sydney Morning Herald

a day ago

A long-time friend and colleague of former School Infrastructure NSW boss Anthony Manning received millions of dollars in contracts which either 'pushed the boundaries' of, or breached, government procurement rules, the state's anti-corruption watchdog has heard.
In one case, Martin Berry, whom the Independent Commission Against Corruption has previously heard had known Manning as a friend and colleague since 2006, appeared to have begun work on a contract worth almost $600,000 about a month before it was approved 'outside normal procurement thresholds'.
'Cart before the horse stuff,' is how Paul Hannan, a senior Department of Education official who appeared before the commission on Friday, described it. 'Rare, super rare stuff,' he said during the second day of his extensive and often tense questioning by counsel assisting Jamie Darams.
In total, ICAC has heard that between 2018 and 2022 Berry and his advisory firm, Heathwest, were engaged nine times by School Infrastructure and paid more than $3 million.
The two men met in 2006 when Berry gave Manning a job in the Sydney office of consulting firm Turner & Townsend. They socialised together, and Manning organised Berry's buck's party and attended his wedding.
They were both members of the 'Tom, Dick and Harry Breakfast Club' along with various other consultants who were also contracted to do work for the school building agency.
Berry appeared in the witness stand for the first time on Friday afternoon, and Darams took him through a long history of text messages with Manning dating back to 2015 and early 2016.
They boasted about cricket – both men are English, and took pleasure in their Ashes victory at Trent Bridge that year – arranged to catch up for beers on Sydney's northern beaches, and discussed work.