The Canberra Institute of Technology is required to provide its justification for a nearly $5 million contract to a "complexity and systems thinker" by Tuesday, as the ACT's opposition has heaped renewed pressure on the government over the contracts.
Skills Minister Chris Steel last week asked to receive information from the CIT's board of directors about a recently-awarded $4.99 million contract to Think Garden, a company run by consultant Patrick Hollingworth.
Mr Hollingworth's company has received more than $8.5 million in taxpayer money over the past five years for consulting work.
The latest $4.99 million contract was only $10 below the threshold needed to go before the government's procurement board. The contract has been criticised for having unclear terms of reference and deliverables.
Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee has called on both Chief Minister Andrew Barr and Skills Minister Chris Steel to provide an explanation of everything they knew about the contracts prior to last week when the issue was brought to the Legislative Assembly.
Ms Lee has made the call after it was revealed by The Canberra Times that Mr Barr had been made aware of concerns about the contracts in 2019.
A member of the public wrote to the Chief Minister in June 2019 about more than $1 million in contracts awarded to consultant Patrick Hollingworth, saying it was money that should be spent on teaching.
In July 2019, Mr Barr wrote back in support of the CIT's broad program of transformation work.
"I am confident the work CIT is doing in regards to its transformation is directly benefiting teaching areas and the community by ensuring CIT is able to evolve and deliver training and skills development to the Canberra region now and into the future," Mr Barr wrote.
Mr Barr's letter was written after Mr Hollingworth was awarded more than $1.2 million worth of consulting work.
Since it has emerged that Mr Barr was made aware of contracts in 2019, Ms Lee has called for the ACT government to tell the public everything they know about the CIT consulting contracts.
"It is now a week since this issue came to light and we are yet to hear anything of substance from the ACT Labor-Greens government," she said.
"The Chief Minister must step up and show some leadership.
"He was warned about the contracts in 2019; the Minister for Skills was warned about the contracts in 2021; and yet further contracts worth millions of taxpayer dollars have been signed.
"CIT staff are scared of losing their jobs if they speak up and they are crying out for someone in the ACT Labor-Greens government to step up and take responsibility."
Mr Steel had raised the issue with the CIT's board chair Craig Sloan in March 2021 over more than $3.2 million worth of contracts awarded to Mr Hollingworth.
The Skills Minister faced a no-confidence motion over this last week.
When concerns about the $4.99 million contract were raised last week, Labor and Greens members agreed to an amended motion urging the Auditor-General to probe the contracts.
THE STORY SO FAR:
- What did the CIT (and the taxpayers) get for $8.5 million?
- CIT wanted to hire consultant without open tender process
- 'What's actually the aim of it?': CIT's $8.5m contracts draw more criticism
Mr Steel said he only became aware of the latest $4.99 million contract last week and he demanded an explanation from the board's directors, writing that he could not determine what the contract would deliver "based on the use of jargon and an ill-defined statement of requirements".
Mr Steel also wrote to the CIT board demanding an explanation within five business days, which is set to expire today.
He has also sought advice on what power he has in relation to the contracts.
CIT have stood by the contracts, with a spokesman telling The Canberra Times on Friday that the institute was confident the contracts represented value for money and that procurement had been undertaken through appropriate processes.
The spokesman has also told The Canberra Times that the institute was not reconsidering the contract and was committed to the "important transformation". He also said the language used in the contracts was "appropriate for the market for the specific technical services".
CIT chief executive Leanne Cover also held an all-staff video conference last Friday, where she is understood to have said all procurement processes had been handled appropriately.
Staff asked questions through the conferencing platform, but those questions were ignored and not addressed.
Mr Hollingworth has not responded to requests for comment.
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