Lucrative contracts awarded by the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) to two consultancy firms headed up by a mountaineer raise concerns, the Canberra Liberals say.
Since 2018, CIT has awarded four contracts, worth almost $8.5 million, to two businesses, Think Garden and Redrouge Nominees Pty Ltd.
Patrick Hollingworth, who runs both entities, describes himself on his website as a "complexity and systems thinker" who has also written a book, "climbed a few mountains" and "sometimes speaks at conferences".
According to the CIT's tenders, the contracts were for "strategic guidance and mentoring services to executives and staff" as well as "design structures and elements that enable greater coordination of analysis and decision-making in relation to products, offerings and services".
The latest contract, signed with Think Garden in March, was worth $5 million, after the same company was awarded a $1.7 million contract in April 2020.
In 2018 and 2021, the CIT awarded Mr Hollingworth's other company, Redrouge Nominees Pty Ltd, contracts for $1.22 million and $512,000 respectively.
CIT chief executive Leanne Cover said Think Garden was awarded the latest $5 million deal because it offered "the best value for money" in a competitive tender process.
But the Canberra Liberals have questioned whether any of the contracts represented the best use of public money.
Contracts are 'shrouded in secrecy': Opposition Leader
In a statement to the ABC, ACT Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee questioned the transparency of the services the contracts delivered.
"The contracts were all awarded to the same person, and linked entities, primarily to provide mentoring to the CIT CEO," Ms Lee said.
"There is very little publicly available information to indicate what services were delivered under these contracts and there is no transparency about what Canberrans have received."
Ms Lee said Canberrans deserved to know what they were paying for.
She said the ACT's Tertiary Education Minister, Chris Steel, had serious questions to answer.
However, a spokeswoman from Mr Steel's office said CIT was governed by a board that was independent of the government.
"The release and negotiation of external contracts are therefore a matter for the CIT board and executive," she said.
The spokeswoman said the government expected the institute to "use public funds appropriately and efficiently".
Though, Mr Steel has now written to the CIT, giving it a week to provide details of the contracts.
In the letter to the chair of the CIT's board, Mr Steel said that the government had previously "flagged concerns that these contracts may not represent an efficient use of public funds in line with community expectations".
"I have reviewed the tender documentation and contract for this [$5 million] procurement and am unable to determine the specific work to be delivered through it, based on the use of jargon and an ill-defined statement of requirements."
Successful tenderers represented 'best value for money'
Ms Cover told the ABC all of the contracts were awarded to the best bids the institute had received.
"It's a competitive market," she said.
"Each of those occasions [tenders] led to the best value for money, in terms of the purchasing of those outcomes."
She said Mr Hollingworth's firms were helping to ensure "that, as an institution, we're adapting and changing our workforce and capability as an organisation to meet the needs of the ACT's vocational education and training sector".
Earlier, a CIT spokesman told the ABC said the purpose of the latest contract was to "guide and support CIT through a time of unprecedented change and opportunity".
The spokesman said the contract aimed to "progress the evolution of its complex, adaptive systems-informed approach to CIT's transformation, from its initial exploration, designing and testing phases to a wider systemic implementation".
"CIT envisions this will occur through the continued acquisition and embedding of knowledge, tools, activities, practices, and structures that will ensure CIT can function as a system that learns," he said.
The ABC has contacted Mr Hollingworth for comment.
