Airservices’ ‘dodgy dealings’ under watchdog probe

The watchdog that investigates public spending has confirmed it has launched a probe into Airservices Australia.

Airservices Australia’s acting chief executive Jason Harfield.

The government watchdog which investigates public spending has confirmed it has launched a special probe into Airservices Australia and says it will focus on what has been described as “dodgy” and “incestuous” dealings with an obscure “not-for-profit” organisation.

The move comes as speculation mounts in aviation circles that the Airservices board and Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss, whose portfolio covers aviation, are leaning towards appointing acting chief executive Jason Harfield to the position permanently.

As revealed last month, the Australian National Audit Office will investigate Airservices following reports in The Australian and Senate committee hearings, which raised serious questions about the organisation’s governance.

The ANAO has confirmed on its website that the investigation is under way. It will be specifically directed at Airservices’ dealings with the International Centre for Complex Project Management over the $1.5 billion OneSKY program which will integrate the nation’s civil and military air traffic control and navigation systems.

The ANAO website says the investigation’s objective is: “To examine whether Airservices Australia has effective procurement arrangements in place, with a particular emphasis on whether consultancy contracts entered into with ICCPM in association with the OneSKY Australia project were effectively administered.”

The move follows an urgent request from the Senate rural and regional affairs and transport legislation committee.

A Senate committee hearing in August heard that ICCPM managing director Deborah Hein is the wife of Steve Hein, who worked for ICCPM until hired by Airservices in a senior managerial role. One contract Airservices struck with ICCPM was processed by Mr Hein.

Senators also expressed incredulity that Airservices had hired an ICCPM consultant, Harry Bradford, to negotiate on its behalf with the prime contractor on the OneSKY project, aerospace group Thales Australia, when the managing director of Thales, Chris Jenkins, is also the chairman of ICCPM.

“The perception of conflict of interest is all over this,” Labor senator Joe Bullock told the hearing, while the committee chairman, Liberal Bill Heffernan, said the dealings were “incestuous” and would “not pass the public test … it sounds dodgy”.

Mr Bradford, who has been paid more than $1 million by Airservices thus far, is a former RAAF officer.

On its website, ICCPM describes itself as “an independent, international, not-for-profit organisation that would support both government and industry’s ability to better deliver complex projects”.

Ms Hein declined to speak over the telephone, but in an email said ICCPM “looks forward to the opportunity to engage in the ANAO audit”.

Sources told The Australian the ANAO regarded the matters raised about Airservices as serious, and would expedite the inquiry.

While former Airservices chief executive Margaret Staib resigned in late July citing health issues, aviation industry figures said they had not seen any advertising for the position.

Airservices spokeswoman Vicki Huggins and Mr Truss’s spokeswoman Kate Barwick would not answer questions about the process of appointing a new Airservices chief executive, including whether the position had been or would be advertised, with Ms Barwick only saying “the appointment will go through a recruitment process”.

Former Civil Aviation Authority chair, businessman and aviator Dick Smith said he had been contacted by “a number of people who would be really excellent for the job” but they had not seen the position advertised. “If they are thinking of doing an inside job that would be a disaster; they have a lot of problems and need a new person from outside,” Mr Smith said.

“This is a billion-dollar-a-year business; they should be advertising it around the world”.