School building boss asked staff to ‘chase' friend over tender scheme
The former boss of the NSW government's school building unit had a contractor 'chase' his friend to apply for an internal pre-qualification scheme which allowed him to bid for a tender that eventually netted his firm about $1 million.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption on Friday saw text exchanges between former School Infrastructure NSW chief executive Anthony Manning and his friend Martin Berry showing the two were in contact in the lead-up to his registration for a pre-tender scheme within the agency.
The texts show that in December 2017 Manning told Berry that a department contractor, Lily Wong, had been 'chasing you for me' but was 'not aware of our connection'.
The exchange related to a pre-qualification scheme that Berry's company, Heathwest, was required to join to bid for a contract to provide assurance services to the school building agency.
ICAC has previously heard that Manning and Berry had known each other since 2006, when they had worked together in the Sydney office of consulting firm Turner & Townsend.
The two men became friends and regularly socialised together, including dinners and social catch-ups on Sydney's northern beaches. In his previous appearance before the inquiry, counsel assisting Jamie Darams, SC, took Berry through a long history of text messages with Manning dating back to 2015 and early 2016 in which they discussed social catch-ups and cricket alongside work.
In October 2017, within about six weeks of Manning starting work as the chief executive of School Infrastructure, the two men talked about engaging Heathwest to provide investor assurance services, the inquiry heard in its opening week.
At the time, Heathwest was not prequalified under a whole-of-government scheme called the Performance and Management Services Scheme, and the ICAC has heard another School Infrastructure contractor, Lily Wong, had sent emails to Berry prompting him to join it.
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Sydney Morning Herald
21 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
School building boss asked staff to ‘chase' friend over tender scheme
The former boss of the NSW government's school building unit had a contractor 'chase' his friend to apply for an internal pre-qualification scheme which allowed him to bid for a tender that eventually netted his firm about $1 million. The Independent Commission Against Corruption on Friday saw text exchanges between former School Infrastructure NSW chief executive Anthony Manning and his friend Martin Berry showing the two were in contact in the lead-up to his registration for a pre-tender scheme within the agency. The texts show that in December 2017 Manning told Berry that a department contractor, Lily Wong, had been 'chasing you for me' but was 'not aware of our connection'. The exchange related to a pre-qualification scheme that Berry's company, Heathwest, was required to join to bid for a contract to provide assurance services to the school building agency. ICAC has previously heard that Manning and Berry had known each other since 2006, when they had worked together in the Sydney office of consulting firm Turner & Townsend. The two men became friends and regularly socialised together, including dinners and social catch-ups on Sydney's northern beaches. In his previous appearance before the inquiry, counsel assisting Jamie Darams, SC, took Berry through a long history of text messages with Manning dating back to 2015 and early 2016 in which they discussed social catch-ups and cricket alongside work. In October 2017, within about six weeks of Manning starting work as the chief executive of School Infrastructure, the two men talked about engaging Heathwest to provide investor assurance services, the inquiry heard in its opening week. At the time, Heathwest was not prequalified under a whole-of-government scheme called the Performance and Management Services Scheme, and the ICAC has heard another School Infrastructure contractor, Lily Wong, had sent emails to Berry prompting him to join it.
The Age
21 hours ago
- The Age
School building boss asked staff to ‘chase' friend over tender scheme
The former boss of the NSW government's school building unit had a contractor 'chase' his friend to apply for an internal pre-qualification scheme which allowed him to bid for a tender that eventually netted his firm about $1 million. The Independent Commission Against Corruption on Friday saw text exchanges between former School Infrastructure NSW chief executive Anthony Manning and his friend Martin Berry showing the two were in contact in the lead-up to his registration for a pre-tender scheme within the agency. The texts show that in December 2017 Manning told Berry that a department contractor, Lily Wong, had been 'chasing you for me' but was 'not aware of our connection'. The exchange related to a pre-qualification scheme that Berry's company, Heathwest, was required to join to bid for a contract to provide assurance services to the school building agency. ICAC has previously heard that Manning and Berry had known each other since 2006, when they had worked together in the Sydney office of consulting firm Turner & Townsend. The two men became friends and regularly socialised together, including dinners and social catch-ups on Sydney's northern beaches. In his previous appearance before the inquiry, counsel assisting Jamie Darams, SC, took Berry through a long history of text messages with Manning dating back to 2015 and early 2016 in which they discussed social catch-ups and cricket alongside work. In October 2017, within about six weeks of Manning starting work as the chief executive of School Infrastructure, the two men talked about engaging Heathwest to provide investor assurance services, the inquiry heard in its opening week. At the time, Heathwest was not prequalified under a whole-of-government scheme called the Performance and Management Services Scheme, and the ICAC has heard another School Infrastructure contractor, Lily Wong, had sent emails to Berry prompting him to join it.
West Australian
a day ago
- West Australian
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