Ombudsman orders Deputy Premier John Rau to release secret letter from billionaire developer Lang Walker over stalled Festival Plaza upgrade

DEPUTY Premier John Rau has been ordered to release a secret letter from billionaire developer Lang Walker over the stalled Festival Plaza upgrade.

• Lang Walker’s long-awaited $1bn plans look set to go ahead
• State Government’s ideas for Festival Flaza overhaul

DEPUTY Premier John Rau has been ordered to release a secret letter sent to his office by billionaire developer Lang Walker’s company about the stalled Festival Plaza upgrade.

Ombudsman Wayne Lines has overruled a decision by Mr Rau’s office to keep the letter confidential over claims it has commercial value and release is not in the public interest.

Deputy Premier John Rau.

Opposition Deputy Leader Vickie Chapman

Mr Lines ruled on March 29 in a letter to Opposition Deputy Leader Vickie Chapman that her request to release the letter should be granted, opening a 30-day window in which an appeal to the District Court can be made as a last-ditch bid to stop the document becoming public.

Ms Chapman’s year-long battle was for all correspondence between the parties since 2010.

On Tuesday. she said a court battle would “cast a further cloud over secrecy in this state”.

It comes as the Government continues negotiations with Walker Corporation over the $1 billion upgrade of the desolate space behind Parliament House, after responsibility for the project shifted from Mr Rau to new Housing and Urban Development Minister Stephen Mullighan in January.

Walker Corporation chairman Lang Walker.

Mr Mullighan yesterday said the Government was still considering the Ombudsman’s determination and it was open to Walker Corp to challenge the decision if it wished.

“We are working to commence construction as soon as possible but the negotiation involves a series of complex agreements between the Government, Walker Corporation, SkyCity, the Adelaide Festival Centre and the Intercontinental Hotel,” he said. “Reaching agreement between all of the parties is something we are working very hard to achieve and we hope to do so soon.”

Industry sources have told The Advertiser tensions over the project escalated in recent weeks, with fears earlier this month Mr Walker could leave the table.

The Walker Corporation plans include a 24-storey office tower and a two-storey complex of restaurants, luxury shops, cafes and bars on Parliament House’s northern side.

Flashpoints were said to be a changes of responsible ministers and complexities in dealing with Adelaide Casino.

Parliament has been told only a heads of agreement, but no contract exists with Mr Walker.

The Government has also left open the option of becoming a tenant in Mr Walker’s tower, with Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis saying only that he “doesn’t have plans” to do so.

Mr Walker’s lawyers wrote to Mr Lines a year ago, warning that “arrangements with the Government remain pending” and the letter concerned a “significant commercial development negotiation”.

Mr Walker last month pulled out of the old Royal Adelaide Hospital redevelopment race.

Premier Jay Weatherill unveiled plans for Festival Plaza in March last year which included upgrading the Festival Centre, public open space and a possible Adelaide Casino expansion.

The proposal also permits construction of an office tower next to Parliament House.

Mr Walker is to lease car parks in a new underground facility to the Casino as part of its upgrade.

Despite recent rumblings a deal was close that would unlock investment and create new construction jobs, no Government announcement of a final contract signing has been made.

Mr Lines says the disputed letter relates to the carpark and should be released.

“The reasons provided by the agency ... were, in my view, inadequate,” he writes.

“It remains unclear from both the agency and the third party submissions what information in the document has a commercial value. “The document ... is to be released.

“Agencies should always turn their minds to the objects of the (FOI) Act, to extend as far as possible, the rights of the public to obtain access to information held by the Government.

Walker Corp in 2014 launched court action against Greens MP Mark Parnell over an FOI in which he sought copies of documents about the proposed Riverbank redevelopment.