One of the ACT government's most senior and powerful executives, David Dawes, announced his resignation on Friday, before he made his final appearance before a parliamentary hearing to be quizzed about the controversial deals he brokered at the head of the Land Development Agency.
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Chief Minister Andrew Barr is abolishing the agency in the wake of a highly critical audit report last year, replacing it with two new agencies - one responsible for the Northbourne corridor, the city and the lake, and other other responsible for building new suburbs.
Mr Dawes's wrote to staff in the government's economic development directorate on Friday, saying he would not apply for the new positions created by the carve-up. He did not give a leaving date but the new agencies come into being on July 1.
His departure leaves the government looking for chief executives for the two agencies, and an executive to head the economic development directorate. It comes as the head of environment and planning Dorte Ekelund announced she would leave in April, a deputy in Mr Dawes's department, Jeff House, resigned suddenly in February, and as the heads of almost every government department have been replaced in the past year.
The agency has been beset by controversy in the past year, over land prices, and a series of controversial land purchases at Glebe Park and West Basin.
Mr Coe put a series of questions to Mr Dawes at the annual reports hearings on Friday about the role of broker Ben Parsons in negotiating the deal with the owners of Mr Spokes bike hire. Mr Parsons called owner Jillian Edwards and offered to help free of charge when negotiations had fallen apart with the Land Development Agency in mid 2015. Mr Parsons became their representative and was later paid by the agency. The agency has confirmed the payment, but will not say how much it gave Mr Parsons.
Mr Coe asked whether anyone within government had referred Mr Parsons to Mr Spokes.
"Definitely not," Mr Dawes replied.
"It was quite ugly, the legal officer was quite aggressive at the time, and it was not going very far," Mr Dawes said of negotiations with the Mr Spokes owners. "He [Mr Parsons] actually rang them up and approached them and said "do you want me to act for you", is my understanding."
Asked why the land agency had paid Mr Parsons directly, Mr Dawes said it was "part and parcel of the negotiated outcome".
Executive director of urban renewal Liz Lopa said it was "just a cheque-direction issue".
Mr Coe asked why the payment had not appeared on the government's notifiable invoices register, which requires all payments above $25,000 to be listed.
Agency chief financial officer Bruce Fitzgerald said such payments may not need to be registered.
The government says it is normal practice to pay legal and other fees in such transactions.
Mr Dawes said he was proud of the achievements in his decade heading the agency. He pointed to "record levels of land release," the affordable housing action plan, the land rent scheme, lights and other improvements to Manuka Oval, the introduction of international flights, the signing of the contract for a long-contemplated government office block in the city, and the major public housing demolition and rebuild.
"After a decade of rewarding and busy public service I look forward to taking some time off before making decisions about my ongoing career," he said.
Mr Dawes is director-general of economic development directorate as well as chief executive of the Land Development Agency. His departure, and those of Ms Ekelund and Mr House, along with the newly created agencies and executive positions, leave the government with a major recruitment task as the June budget is being finalised.
