Page 1782 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 8 June 2022
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had asked questions about these dodgy procurements, CIT went on to award a further two contracts, worth an eye-watering $5.51 million, to the same individual. This brings us to a total of $8.87 million of taxpayer funds awarded to one individual. Let us not forget that these are only the contracts that we know about. Still, even after hours and hours of discussion and debate yesterday, none of us—none of us—are any the wiser as to what that huge sum of money has been spent on, what it actually delivered and what benefit it has brought to the CIT and the wider Canberra community.
Yesterday the minister tabled a letter he had written to the CIT board, dated 7 June—that is, yesterday. It is abundantly clear that this was a damage control letter drafted in haste because the concerns he had raised, and effectively did nothing about to halt, were coming to light. In this letter he wrote:
In March 2021 I wrote to you seeking clarification of the nature of the first four contracts and how they contributed to the efficient, effective delivery of CIT’s mission to deliver high quality skills and training for the Canberra community.
Madam Speaker, I call on the minister today to table that letter of March last year, and any response he received, before 12 pm today in this place. If he has any sense of duty, any commitment to transparency and any semblance of actually getting to the bottom of this, he must agree to that.
The minister continues in his letter dated 7 June, yesterday:
In my subsequent discussions directly with you, and between my office and CIT’s CEO, the government flagged concerns that these contracts may not represent efficient use of public funds in line with community expectations.
Madam Speaker, I call on the minister today to table any minutes, correspondence or records of any kind detailing these discussions, before 12 pm in this place. If he has any sense of duty, any commitment to transparency, any semblance of actually getting to the bottom of this, he must agree to that, because it is clear, abundantly clear, that his view was not at all heeded by CIT. This is the same CIT that went ahead and awarded two further contracts, worth $5.5 million, to the same individual, in blatant disregard of the minister’s apparent concerns. Is he the responsible minister who has carriage of CIT, or is he not? If not, who is responsible for this gross misuse of public funds by CIT?
At best, he has completely lost the confidence of CIT, who have demonstrated clear contempt for the minister’s apparent concerns. At worst, the minister has been complicit for at least 15 months in these dodgy contracts that have seen $8.87 million worth of taxpayer funds going to one contractor to provide mentoring for the CEO. Whatever it is, ultimately it does not matter. We all know that the buck stops with him. Instead of trying to cover himself and throw the CIT board under the bus, he must stand up and take responsibility for this egregious misuse of taxpayer funds. This minister must do the right thing and resign. And, if he will not, the Chief Minister must do the right thing and demand his resignation. When will someone in this government take responsibility for the waste, the complacency, the arrogance?
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