Chief Minister Andrew Barr has defended the two-year period it took the Integrity Commission to find the Canberra Institute of Technology's former chief executive had engaged in "serious corrupt conduct".
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The integrity commission revealed last week Leanne Cover, the previous CEO of the government-funded institute, had acted corruptly when awarding more than $8.5 million in contracts to companies owned by a "complexity and systems thinker".
It stated Ms Cover, over a five-year period, hid information from CIT's board when awarding multimillion-dollar consulting contracts to firms including Redrouge and Think Garden owned by the "thinker", Patrick Hollingworth.
The ACT Integrity Commission had first announced it was investigating the awarding of the contracts two years ago. Integrity commissioner Michael Adams KC had previously believed the investigation would only take a few weeks.
"When it first came about ... I thought that, with adequate resources, we could knock that over in four to six weeks," he had said in August 2022
"That was absurdly optimistic."
In the commission's report, he wrote the consequence of Ms Cover's conduct was to give Mr Hollingworth a substantial financial gain "at the cost of the Territory".
Mr Barr, when questioned whether he thought the investigation had dragged on since beginning in 2022, said the commission was bound by legal processes.
"The [Integrity Commission Act 2018] outlines timeframes. The people who are involved in the integrity commission process have to respond to draft findings and then obviously the final determinations from the integrity commission," he said.
"I think a good process has been had here in that the integrity commission has engaged deeply in the matter and produced a 300-page report."
Reacting to the recent revelations, Mr Barr commended the commission and emphasised the need for such investigative agencies.
"I think the [the findings] really speak for themselves," Mr Barr said.
"I don't have anything further to add to what I've already said and what has already been said by [Minister for Tertiary Education Chris Steel] and others.
"This process obviously reflects the importance of having an integrity commission. The commission has done its work well."
Bageshri Savyasachi
I am a health and general reporter with an interest in transparency, crime and issues affecting Canberra's diverse communities. Contact me at bageshri.s@canberratimes.com.au or send confidential tips to bageshri.s@proton.me
I am a health and general reporter with an interest in transparency, crime and issues affecting Canberra's diverse communities. Contact me at bageshri.s@canberratimes.com.au or send confidential tips to bageshri.s@proton.me
