By Lucy Carroll
The former boss of the NSW government’s school-building unit steered a multimillion-dollar contract to a consultant he described as his “communications fairy godmother” despite the firm not being ranked first in a tender evaluation, an anti-corruption probe has heard.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption also heard evidence on Tuesday that a private contractor was paid $1.65 million over the three years that he worked in executive roles for School Infrastructure.
Erin Giuliani, a former executive at School Infrastructure NSW, gives evidence at ICAC on Tuesday.
ICAC is investigating allegations that Anthony Manning, who led School Infrastructure from 2017 to 2024, and others within the building unit subverted recruitment processes, improperly awarded contracts and misallocated funds to favour friends and associates.
Early in the day, the inquiry heard from Erin Giuliani, who held various roles at School Infrastructure NSW between 2017 and 2021, including as executive officer and an executive director. She worked at recruitment firm Korn Ferry before starting at the department and again briefly in 2019.
Counsel assisting Jamie Darams, SC, outlined Giuliani’s involvement in procurement when she was at School Infrastructure, including suggesting suppliers and sitting on evaluation panels. She later acted in a chief of staff role for Manning, looking after capital works and school maintenance backlogs.
NSW Education Department documents from 2018 show Giuliani was on a “tender evaluation team” when the building unit was looking for “strategic communications” services in 2018, the inquiry heard.
The documents show Kathy Jones and Associates (KJA) was ranked second on the “initial rank order of respondents”; however, the notes show “after further discussion amongst the [tender team] and in consultation with the chief executive”, the final ranking based on value for money was KJA.
Giuliani said Manning had told her about working with KJA at Health Infrastructure. “I remember he said to me once she was his communications fairy godmother,” Giuliani said when asked about terms Manning used about Jones.
The inquiry this month heard evidence about Manning and Jones’ relationship, and that the pair had known each other since 2011. In 2017, Jones emailed Manning a proposal to provide strategic communications advisory services.
“The services were, in effect, to provide high-level communications advice to Mr Manning,” the inquiry heard in early May. “Ms [Lily] Wong personally invited Ms Jones to tender for that contract … KJA was not the first-ranked after the initial 10-tender evaluation, but this was changed after consultation with Mr Manning.”
The total amount paid to companies associated with Jones from 2018 to 2024 was almost $9 million, including 133 contractors. It is unclear why this was necessary, the inquiry heard, when the building unit had its own communications staff.
Erik Maranik gives evidence at the ICAC.Credit: ICAC
In the afternoon, the inquiry heard from Erik Maranik, who held “eight or nine roles” at the department from March 2018 to April 2021. He served as chief operating officer at School Infrastructure during that period and later as deputy secretary of the COVID taskforce.
Maranik told the inquiry he was engaged as a contingent worker for the school building unit, starting as a technical planner, and was later approached by Manning for the role of chief operating officer.
During his evidence, Maranik confirmed he was paid $2200 a day while in the chief operating officer role, through his company ResEng, of which he was sole director and shareholder.
“I worked for a company [ResEng] and they had a contract with Ranstad [a recruitment company] and they charged that to the department,” he said.
Counsel assisting Dan Fuller asked Maranik: “Is this right that for the approximately three years that you are engaged to work for School Infrastructure, ResEng was paid approximately $1.65 million? Does that sound right?” Maranik replied, “It sounds about right, yes.”
The inquiry heard that one reason contingent workers were brought into School Infrastructure, rather than employees, was to “enable them to be paid from capital funding”.
Maranik told the inquiry he started on a contract at School Infrastructure after “reaching out” to Manning, whom he had met when they were working in Health Infrastructure in about 2011. He said he worked with Manning on the New Maitland Hospital and John Hunter Hospital when they were at the health agency.
Fuller also asked Maranik if he knew Kathy Jones before joining School Infrastructure. “She was on the New Maitland Hospital project doing community engagement” when he was at Health Infrastructure, he said.
He said he did not socialise with Manning or Jones outside of work. He said he was not aware in 2018 of a social relationship between Jones and Manning, although he had become aware of it in “the last two years”.
Emails from December 2018 show Ben Naughtin, a director at School Infrastructure, querying with other officials in the unit if direct negotiation of contractors with contract value over $100,000 needed secretary approval.
“I am tightening up on-boarding in delivery and have some concerns we are not following state procurement guidelines in this area.”
Maranik was asked if it “was it common to employ contingent workers” while he was at the building unit.
“My recollection was, it was a sense of urgency. Right at the time of day one, term one” there was a “focus on demountables and I think it was potentially a matter of expediency,” he said.
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