Former NSW Education Secretary Mark Scott has conceded that in hindsight he should have asked more questions about an apparent falling out between Anthony Manning, the man he hired to run the state’s school building unit, and his former boss at Health Infrastructure NSW.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption is investigating the conduct of Manning, who led School Infrastructure NSW from 2017 until last year. It is investigating allegations Manning gave friends high-paying contractor jobs, and improperly awarded contracts and misallocated funds.
Former NSW Education Department Secretary Mark Scott leaving the ICAC building on Monday.Credit: Dean Sewell
Scott, the University of Sydney vice chancellor, headed the NSW Education Department when School Infrastructure was set up in 2017, and was responsible for hiring Manning as its first chief.
School Infrastructure was established when the government was looking to make “a significant increase in funding” to build more schools, he said, but there was “a very significant concern in and around government” about the department’s capacity.
He recalled that shortly after his appointment as secretary in 2016 he attended a meeting of the Expenditure Review Committee – a cabinet subcommittee made up of senior ministers – which left him concerned about “the lack of confidence there appeared [to be] in the department to be able to deliver on the work”.
During evidence on Tuesday, he painted a picture of Manning as a well-respected figure within the then-Coalition government. Among his references for the job were former premier Mike Baird and former health minister Jillian Skinner.
Scott also confirmed then-education minister Rob Stokes suggested Manning as “someone worth investigating” during the recruitment process, but “no further than that”. Another former boss at Health, Robert Rust, who chaired the advisory council for School Infrastructure, was also a referee.
“The overwhelming impression was Mr Manning was can-do, was focused, and I received no signals of concern or disquiet,” Scott said of the response after his appointment.
While Scott said he did not recall details of the hiring process, he acknowledged he should have asked more questions about why he left his former job.
Manning had left his job as a senior executive of Health Infrastructure NSW when he applied for the position heading up School Infrastructure from its inception in 2017, but Scott said he could not recall ever asking why he had departed the agency, saying no “red flags” had been raised with him.
But a references report prepared by recruitment firm Korn Ferry at the time stated that Manning had “a falling out” with his former boss at Health Infrastructure, Sam Sangster.
While the references were “unequivocal” in stating Manning’s suitability “as a shortlist candidate” they warned he would need to “understand that he needs to work as a team with all of the players – from senior leaders to peers and the team underneath him”.
After being shown the report – which he said he did not recall – Scott agreed “in hindsight” that it was fair to suggest he should have asked more questions.
“I cannot recall now at this point eight years on those conversations taking place, they may well [have],” he said.
During the inquiry, a number of witnesses have described issues between Manning and other senior employees within the NSW Department of Education. The current education secretary, Murat Dizdar, said while Manning could be “helpful” and “thoughtful” colleague, he also had a “sharp” and “direct” manner, which left some colleagues “bruised”.
One former employee at the schools agency said he was “very Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde”.
The ICAC has also heard evidence senior officials within NSW Education raised concerns with Scott early in the life of the new agency about “exorbitant” spending on contractors and the emergence of “shadow functions”, including procurement, operating at arm’s-length from departmental oversight.
Under Manning, spending on contractors surged to more than $344 million between 2017 and 2024. The inquiry has heard evidence that 26 employees were on salaries of more than $500,000.
Scott told the inquiry while he could not recall those specific conversations, he was not surprised by them. Neither would have concerned him, he said, because the significant budget allocation handed to School Infrastructure and the pressure that resulted from it meant it was seen as necessary.
“Sometimes shadow functions emerge when there is a feeling of a need to move quickly and services aren’t being provided,” he said, adding School Infrastructure was “looking to move at speed”.
In particular, the state’s first high-rise school, Arthur Phillip High at Parramatta, had been plagued by cost blowouts and delays, and Manning had been tasked with fixing it when he started the job.
“I think we were in trouble, was it being expensive to fix, did we need experts to come in and fix it, I don’t think that would’ve surprised me too much,” he said of the alleged warnings.
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