Transport boss Tony Braxton-Smith’s ex-colleague given $1.4 million contract to help privatise SA’s rail system

A former colleague of SA’s transport department boss has been given a $1.4 million contract to help privatise Adelaide’s rail system.

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One of the four members of a board set up to oversee South Australia’s public transport system has been awarded a $1.4 million “consultancy” contract to help privatise Adelaide’s rail system.

A former transport boss in Auckland and Sydney, Fergus Gammie has been engaged as project director for outsourcing of rail services as part of the Adelaide Rail Transformation program.

The contract is set to be the focus of questions to Department of Transport and Infrastructure head Tony Braxton-Smith, from the State Opposition, at a Budget and Finance Committe in State Parliament on Tuesday.

“It’s staggering that the Marshall Liberal Government are giving one consultant from NSW more than $1.4 million to sell an asset owned by South Australians,” Opposition transport spokesman Tom Koutsantonis told The Advertiser.

Mr Gammie worked with Mr Braxton-Smith as deputy directors in an overhaul of NSW’s transport department in 2011.

Department of Transport and Infrastructure head Tony Braxton-Smith.

A department spokesman said Mr Gammie “was identified and engaged through single source” after a 2018 search for a similar project “was unsuccessful as the selected suppliers were unable to provide a project director with specialised skills and experience to support the department throughout the rail program”.

“Had the department gone with a consultant from a ‘Big 4’ firm to undertake this work, the cost could have been three times more,” the spokesman said.

“Mr Gammie has extensive experience leading programs to deliver transport reforms and service improvements in Australia and New Zealand.”

In 2016 Mr Gammie became the chief executive officer of NZ Transport Agency.

He resigned from the role in 2018 following a number of scandals, including the recall of almost 20,000 vehicles after inspectors were suspended for sub-standard work that in one case led to the death of a 65-year-old man.

In June last year then-transport minister Stephan Knoll announced Mr Gammie as one of

four experts to join the new public transport board, the South Australian Public Transport Authority Advisory Board.

The department spokesman said Mr Gammie had not received payment for his position on the SAPTA board but did not answer whether or not he was based in Adelaide or Sydney, where The Advertiser understands he still lives.

The issue continues a tumultuous few months for the department after The Advertiser revealed Mr Braxton-Smith had instigated a ‘public affairs’ spin unit, including a new role for a resigned minister’s former chief of staff, and unsuccessful bidders for Adelaide’s rail contracts had been offered ‘loser’ payouts of up to $1 million.