The scathing Integrity Commission report has lifted a curtain on dark deeds within the Labor establishment in the ACT. Two operatives were severely criticised for "skewing the system".
But the report also threw light on brutal language and dealings behind the scenes. Text messages within government, published in the report, are peppered with "c---" and "f---". They read like something the foul-mouthed fictional spin doctor Malcolm Tucker might have uttered.
Construction industry employers said the report also showed that the system for giving large government contracts was flawed.
The corruption identified by the Integrity Commission wasn't a matter of backhanders and cash in brown envelopes.
It was, rather, about a contract being steered towards a company favoured by the controversial Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees' Union even though it meant a higher cost to the taxpayer.
But the case exposes broader vulnerabilities in the system where the ACT government allocates big-sum contracts to companies.
Labor likes unions - there's no secret about that. The two are entwined like twins - but that doesn't mean that the law allows a Labor government to just give contracts to companies which are unionised and, on the other hand, shut out companies which aren't favoured by unions.
The grey area comes in the ACT government's rules for giving contracts to companies. To bid, they must be passed fit on their "ethical treatment of workers".
And that condition gives wiggle room for Labor government operatives to steer contracts quietly to unions they favour - or so the two operatives condemned by the Integrity Commission thought until a whistleblower blew the whistle on them.
In dispute was the $18 million contract for construction work at Campbell Primary School in 2019 and 2020.
One contending company, Manteena, tendered for the job and offered a lower price and higher standard than the other company, Lendlease.
But union-favoured Lendlease got the job (implying that taxpayers picked up a higher bill from the CFMEU's favoured company - and did so without being aware of the behind-the-scenes dealing).
The ACT Integrity Commission found that the former head of the ACT's Education Directorate, Katy Haire, and Josh Ceramidas who worked for Yvette Berry, the ACT's deputy chief minister until Thursday afternoon when she resigned in the wake of the report.
In plain English, Ms Haire and Mr Ceramidas had acted in cahoots to give the contract to the company the union favoured. The process was "improperly skewed, resulting in manifest unfairness," the Integrity Commission found.
Mr Ceramidas "acted in his own interest for the purpose of currying favour with the CFMEU". He did not disclose his actions to Ms Berry and lied to the territory's corruption watchdog, the report said.
"Whether taken singly or together, this conduct was, as Mr Ceramidas well knew, a dishonest abuse of his office as a ministerial staffer," the report added.
Construction industry employers in the ACT have long said that the system was open to abuse. Its trade association said after the report's publication that a shake-up was needed.
"The procurement system in the ACT as it stands is not delivering value for money for the territory, and that we need an urgent review of all processes to ensure fairness, transparency and to eliminate corrupt influence," Anna Neelagama, chief executive of the Master Builders ACT, said.
"The length of time taken to hand down these findings is also unacceptable. It has taken four years to deliver these findings, and justice delayed is justice denied, not to mention the considerable time and cost for the builders involved."
There is a footnote for political operatives and public servants: don't say anything on WhatsApp or text which you wouldn't want to come out in public.
According to the report, Mr Ceramidas referred in a text to the whistleblower, known by the pseudonym "Green", saying he had "chewed that c--- out".
Another gem from Mr Ceramidas read: "If [Green] f---s up again he's going to be good mates with Mr Squiggle."
And: "I think I'll ask education to just f---ing do it themselves and write it onto the criteria."
And: "Man we're not out of the woods yet but I think Green might soon be proven to have f----- with the wrong min".
