Labor politician Yvette Berry’s resignation from cabinet yesterday has not ended the fallout from Operation Kingfisher. Opposition politicians, business figures, and the construction industry are calling for wider action on union influence, reforms of procurement, and further accountability.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr accepted Ms Berry’s resignation after the ACT Integrity Commission found her former chief of staff, Joshua Ceramidas, and former Education Directorate director-general Katy Haire had engaged in serious corrupt conduct during the Campbell Primary School modernisation procurement.
The Commission made no adverse findings against Ms Berry herself, but Mr Barr said ministers were accountable under the Ministerial Code of Conduct for the actions of their staff.
The Canberra Liberals said Ms Berry’s resignation delivered that accountability, but argued the Commission’s findings raised wider questions about CFMEU influence.
Opposition leader Mark Parton MLA said the Campbell Primary School modernisation project cost taxpayers nearly $1 million more because of union pressure.
“Most Canberrans don’t believe this was a one-off,” Mr Parton said. “The text messages between the Minister’s Chief of Staff and the CFMEU suggest that these were not the first interactions of this nature. Union influence goes deep, and it is one of the reasons everything costs more than it should in Canberra.”
The opposition called for full consequences for all those found to have engaged in serious corrupt conduct, and for all cabinet ministers – including Michael Pettersson MLA – and ministerial staff to end their CFMEU memberships.
“After more than 25 years of ACT Labor government, this culture of union interference and higher costs for ratepayers must end,” Mr Parton said.
Local business owner Tom Adam argued that Mr Barr himself should resign.
“With a censure motion … a now disgraced Minister leaving the cabinet, and more bad news surely to come – I think it’s actually time for ‘the Chief’ to go,” Mr Adam said.
“A government, any government that has been in power for 25 years, is bound to have problems. And Yvette Berry stepping down is just the tip of the iceberg.”
Mr Adam accused the government of more than a decade of overspending, warning that generations of ACT residents could face the prospect of “all of their rates only going to pay interest on government debt, and reduced services as a result”.
“Then a finding that corruption has occurred, feeding the CFMEU over the needs of ACT residents.
“It’s clear that this Government has to go.
“Who knows how deep the reach of corruption goes into the ACT Public Service, with government, policy, regulation, and even laws set up to allow projects to be over-priced at the expense of ACT residents and taxpayers?”
Interference in the Campbell Primary School procurement occurred partly under the guise of concerns about compliance with the Secure Local Jobs Code, an ACT Government procurement scheme intended to ensure that businesses receiving certain government contracts comply with workplace laws and employment standards.
Critics are asking whether the Code provides too much scope for unions, ministerial offices or officials to interfere with procurement decisions.
“The Secure Local Jobs Code has been exposed for what it is,” Mr Parton said. “The government itself admits it does not create additional local jobs.
“The people of the ACT have every right to question whether this code has been used to enable union interference in government procurement.”
Master Builders ACT chief executive Anna Neelagama said Ms Berry’s resignation had managed the immediate political fallout without addressing the system that enabled the conduct.
“What we really need to see is a serious systems overhaul so we can deal with the fundamental fairness issues that builders and all of our members have faced,” Ms Neelagama told ABC Canberra radio.
She said the Code neither guaranteed secure jobs nor favoured local businesses or workers, and should be abolished or independently reviewed.
“Many times contracts go interstate when there was local capability to deliver it,” Ms Neelagama said. “The Secure Local Jobs Code being nothing but a piece of paper which everyone must comply with in order to win government work, but then we see the work go elsewhere.”
Ms Neelagama warned that findings raised questions about other government projects.
“What Kingfisher identified is a culture and a system that enabled significant misconduct, interference [and] intervention by the top officials that we should have trust and faith in,” she said. “That means anything in the portfolio could be subject to the same interference and maliciousness.”
However, the ACT Ice Sports Federation paid tribute to Ms Berry’s record as sports minister.
Spokesman Sandi Logan described her as “a true champion of the ice sports – and more widely, of the communities of sport, education, housing, women and early childhood development”.
“Yvette Berry will be sorely missed in Cabinet, and we want to record our appreciation for her backing of our mission, and her steadfast commitment to it ever since,” Mr Logan said.
“Yvette Berry’s ministerial career boasted many highlights including new and upgraded public schools, substantial investment in public housing, free preschool for three-year-olds, and extensive upgrades at local sporting fields and facilities.”
He said that she had helped secure government backing for a proposed twin-sheet ice sports centre in Tuggeranong. ACTISF urged the incoming sports minister to resolve delays affecting the stalled project.
Labor caucus will meet next week to determine the new cabinet.
