An Education Directorate official did not tell the whole truth to the Auditor-General because he wanted to protect the directorate's reputation, the ACT Integrity Commission has heard.
The official, given the pseudonym John Green, was involved in the procurement for a building project at Campbell Primary School where he recommended the Director-General Katy Haire go against the tender evaluation team's report.
Mr Green said he did not give the full details on how the union influenced the process in an ACT Auditor-General interview under affirmation on June 24, 2021.
"I sincerely regret not having told the whole truth to the Auditor-General," Mr Green told the public examination on Wednesday.
"I think this matter should have been known earlier. I regret my part in not getting it out sooner and it's a decision that I have reflected upon many times since then and regret."
Mr Green said he sought to protect the directorate's reputation when he did not mention that he was directed to not award to contract to Manteena.
"I think I went into that with mindset to protect the education department," he said in a private examination on May 16 this year.
"I accept that was wrong but I think that's the culture within the public services I've been involved with is to answer Auditor-General questions to present the best possible light on the directorate."
The commission heard Mr Green wrote a brief on June 22, 2020, for Ms Haire which recommended Lendlease be awarded a contract for the school project because its "stronger proven track record" outweighed a "weaker design submission".
This was despite the bid being about $900,000 more expensive and scoring lower for design compared to a tender from Manteena.
Mr Green said he thought Lendlease was a better contractor but that Manteena had submitted a better tender based on the criteria.
"This is not the decision I would have made but this is the decision that I was told needed to be made. So I was providing a brief to enable that decision to be made," he said.
The brief did not include the fact that a first evaluation team had found Manteena's bid to outscore Lendlease's bid and that a second team who evaluated best and final offers had narrowed the scores but also found Manteena's tender to be ahead on the criteria.
The brief did not include mention of pressure from the construction union to not select Manteena for the project, the Commission heard.
Counsel assisting the Commissioner Callan O'Neill said: "That reason is the true, honest reason why this minute needed to be prepared, that is because you understood the unions had a problem with Manteena."
Mr Green said: "yes, counsel."
Mr Green said that in writing the brief, he alluded to the real reason that Lendlease was being recommended by mentioning the Secure Local Jobs code "a few more times than probably was really necessary".
The brief noted that an intellectual property payment would go to the tenderers.
Mr Green said because the territory would own both of the designs, Lendlease would be able to overcome deficiencies in its design by using elements of Manteena's design.
He said the design and final cost could be refined in phase two of contract negotiations, after entering into phase one.
He said he did not speak to Ms Haire between sending the brief on June 22, 2020, and her reaching a decision on June 25, 2020.
Manteena chief executive Mark Bauer sought further information about why they had missed out on the tender for "long term factors".
Mr Green said he and his colleague Dylan Blom met Mr Bauer at a Kingston cafe to discuss the tender on September 18, 2020.
"They had already heard that they didn't get the job because there was union influence in the decision making," Mr Green said.
Manteena's solicitors made a freedom of information request to the directorate about the Throsby School and Campbell Primary School tender processes in November 2020.
The Auditor-General released a scathing report into the procurement process in December 2021.
The ACT Integrity Commission is investigating whether public officials within the ACT Education Directorate failed to exercise their official functions honestly and/or impartially when making recommendations and decisions regarding the Campbell Primary School modernisation project between 2019 and 2020.
Mr Green will continue to be cross-examined on Thursday.
The current CFMEU National secretary and ACT branch secretary Zachary Smith is expected to be called next to give evidence.
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