The CIT board says it will commission an independent audit of the latest in a series of controversial contracts issued to two consultancy firms, both owned by mountaineer and 'complexity and systems thinker' Patrick Hollingworth.
The board of the Canberra Institute of Technology will commission an independent audit into the latest in a series of controversial contracts issued to two consultancy firms, after it revealed it could not currently ensure the contract represented value for money.
But Canberra Liberals leader Elizabeth Lee described the contracts as "shrouded in secrecy" and said there were "serious questions" the ACT government needed to answer. "The CIT Board has agreed that based on the information we have at hand it is not currently in a position to provide assurance to you that this contract represents value for money," chair Craig Sloan told Mr Steel.
in a statement from Mr Steel's office, an ACT government spokeswoman said that while the government welcomed the board's decision, questions still remained. It is the second of two consultancy contracts awarded to Think Garden since 2020, while Mr Hollingworth's other company, Redrouge Nominees Pty Ltd, received two consultancy contracts in 2018 and 2021, for $1.22 million and $512,000 respectively.