Campbell Primary School students missed out in contentious building project

Public examinations for ACT Integrity Commission inquiry into the procurement process for the project heard that an Education Directorate official wrote a brief to the director-general recommending a tender that was more expensive with a lower-quality design should be selected.

Canberra firm Manteena's revised design cost $15.1 million and was preferred by the school principal while multinational company Lendlease's final tender price was $16 million.

The commission heard directorate officials were under pressure from the Education Minister's office to not award the tender to Manteena because they did not negotiate with the Construction Forestry Maritime Mining and Energy Union for their enterprise agreement.

Parent Simon Troeth said the school had been greatly impacted by the delays to construction and the reduced scope and budget of the final project.

"It's alarming and disturbing. This is not normal," Mr Troeth said.

"Our kids say the new buildings are great. And they are, but they could have been delivered so much better and quicker."

Before the modernisation project, the school had a basketball court, netball court and rectangular turf area known as the futsal court.

During the second phase of the procurement process, the scope of the project was reduced because both of the initial quotes were over the directorate's budget.

When giving evidence in the commission's first public hearings in August, the directorate official who was overseeing the procurement process, known by the pseudonym John Green, said landscaping was often the first thing to be cut during a "value management" phase.

Mr Green told the inquiry the lowest price was not necessarily the best value for money when taking in the overall maintenance and cleaning costs of a building.

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Mr Troeth said it "defied common sense".

"The Education Directorate is not so overburdened with funds that they can set aside a tender which is $800,000 less," he said.

"Certainly if these allegations are correct, they've cheated kids at that school out of a significant amount of facilities funding. We need to hear the truth of what happened here."

After advocacy from parents, the directorate agreed to install a covered basketball court at the school, which is nearly complete.

The Campbell Primary Parents and Citizens Association led fundraising efforts to replace the futsal court.

Last week the directorate agreed to contribute some funding towards the project.

A directorate spokesman said the futsal court did not form part of the original scope of works for the Campbell Primary School modernisation project and was not included in further restoration works after demountable classrooms were removed.

Public examinations continue this week from September 6 to 8. The hearings will resume with cross-examination of Mr Green.

The commissioner is expected to call former CFMEU ACT branch assistant secretary Zachary Smith, former CFMEU ACT branch secretary Jason O'Mara, Education Minister Yvette Berry, Education Directorate official Rebecca Cross and director-general Katy Haire as witnesses.

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