The expertise of "complexity and systems thinker" Patrick Hollingworth did not come cheap to ACT taxpayers, but very few had heard from the man directly - at least outside the Canberra Institute of Technology. Until now.
Mr Hollingworth took to the witness box in the ACT Supreme Court to give evidence in his company's case seeking damages from the institute over the handling of consulting contracts awarded to his firm.
Mr Hollingworth has a career as a keynote speaker, and there were definitely glimpses of this in the witness box, but this appeared to be dampened by nerves.
For more than five years he led a transformation program at the CIT, where he applied complexity theory to the tertiary education institute. Companies owned by Mr Hollingworth were awarded more than $8.5 million in contracts between $151,000 and $4.99 million.
This included a two-year contract to Think Garden, his consulting company, for nearly $5 million. But three months into this contract everything changed.
Public scrutiny changed everything
Mr Hollingworth's work with the CIT came to a halt in mid-2022 when his contracts came under public scrutiny.
It would result in the standing down of the institute's former chief executive Leanne Cover, who would eventually go on to resign after being found guilty of "serious corrupt conduct" by the ACT Integrity Commission for her handling in awarding the contract. The commission has made no findings against Mr Hollingworth. Its investigation continues.
Over the past two years, Mr Hollingworth has remained quiet.
The Think Garden director's court evidence on Monday was the first public statement he had made about his work, the contracts and the ensuing controversy.
Think Garden is seeking nearly $3.4 million in damages from the CIT, the remaining amount on the $4.99 million contract. He had already been paid nearly $1.7 million on the execution of the contract.
The CIT's barrister, Andrew Berger KC, began his line of questioning by focusing on words Mr Hollingworth used in tender documentation, including that Think Garden was a "global leader" in the field of applied complexity theory.
Mr Hollingworth said the field was small and the company was a leader at the time, but he also said the CIT encouraged him to talk himself up.
"I'm a relatively humble person ... those kind of statements sound very confident but I had been criticised by CIT executives and board chair that we weren't forthcoming enough about where we were at," he told the court.
'Quite messy'
Mr Berger went on to ask the Think Garden director about what steps he had taken after July 2022 to procure extra work for his company. The two-year contract with the CIT was Think Garden's biggest project and had five staff working on it.
Mr Hollingworth said it was difficult to get immediate work in the aftermath of the CIT contracts coming to light but he had been trying and continued to do so.
"The day after the contract was terminated I wasn't on the phone to a new client ... the circumstances around that were quite public and they felt quite messy," he said.
He did acknowledge any future work in Canberra had likely "evaporated" due to the fallout from the contracts.
Since July 2022, Mr Hollingworth said he and Think Garden had done work for three companies: Hewlett Packard, Grant Thornton International and Pulse Partners. The work for HP was a presentation and he was paid $63,000 by Grant Thornton International for work done between March 2023 to May 2023.
Mr Hollingworth was also asked about various trips he had taken over the past two years and whether they were for business or pleasure.
A trip to Carnarvon in June 2022? Pleasure. Perisher in July 2022? Pleasure. Indonesia in August 2022? Pleasure. A number of flights in and out of Mascot between October and December 2022? Mr Hollingworth could not recall flying for a business reason in that period.
He was asked about a trip to Wanaka, New Zealand, in August 2023 and changed up the answer.
"I guess it's tricky to say and I can appreciate that you are seeking a clear delineation between business and professional ... but my work does other things that are not purely based upon receiving income," Mr Hollingworth said.
Following this line of questioning, Mr Berger brought Mr Hollingworth to the point that the contract with the CIT required him or another staff member from Think Garden to be available within 24 hours.
"The commitment to the CIT is that we were there at any point of time to be able to help with whatever could occur," Mr Hollingworth said.
"The analogy was the phone is always on - the door is always open ... our priority was to be in need for CIT."
During the case, when he wasn't testifying, Mr Hollingworth was very engaged in the material and was referencing notes. He could often be seen nodding in agreement when his lawyer was making a point in his favour.
The CIT paused the $4.99 million contract in June 2022 and it was eventually terminated by Think Garden, which alleged the institute had breached the agreement because a pause was not allowed.
The contract says the CIT would be liable for "the contract price, payments and agreed disbursements under this agreement for services rendered before the date of termination" if it is terminated.
Think Garden's lawyers have argued this means the CIT is liable to pay the full price of the contract, arguing the contract price was a singular sum even though it was payable in instalments. Lawyers for the institute say it's only liable for services executed before the termination date.
A decision could take several months.
