NSW Treasurer refuses to say how much taxpayers will fork out for WestConnex delays
IN a heated budget estimates, Treasurer Dominic Perrottet refused to say how many millions of dollars NSW taxpayers will have to stump up if there are delays and changes to the Rozelle Interchange.
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TREASURER Dominic Perrottet has refused to say how many millions of dollars NSW taxpayers will have to stump up if there are any delays to the Rozelle Interchange.
It comes after the toll road giant Transurban, which leads the Sydney Transport Partners Consortium, won the bidding for 51 per cent control of Sydney’s WestConnex motorway, scheduled to open in 2023.
According to an investor briefing disclosed to the ASX, Roads and Maritime Services must pay compensation to the owners of WestConnex for any “delay in completion, abandonment or a change in scope of Stage 3B” - the Rozelle Interchange.
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A heated budget estimates hearing yesterday descended into chaos when Mr Perrottet refused to answer repeated questions about how much taxpayers will have to fork out for any hiccups.
“So we’ll be paying Transurban if the Rozelle interchange is late, we’ll be paying them if the design changes and we’ll be paying them if the Rozelle interchange is not built — how much will we be paying them?” Labor MLC Daniel Mookhey asked.
Mr Perrottet dodged the question and instead lashed out at “reckless, immature and undergraduate” statements made by the Opposition during the WestConnex transaction.
“It’s (the question) completely relevant because the reckless commentary that was made in respect of a live transaction put at risk billions of dollars that we can now invest in schools and hospitals across the state,” he said.
Mr Perrottet said the only people paying Transurban were the taxpayers of NSW under Labor’s M4 cashback scheme.
“If there was any fair dinkum concern in respect to Transurban, I would say you should rethink your cashback scheme or your voter buyback scheme,” he said.
Labor members remarked it was “quite extraordinary” the Treasurer refused to answer the questions with MLC Adam Searle at one point accusing Mr Perrottet of “having a lend of this committee”.
“He may feel he’s above parliamentary scrutiny but he’s not,” Mr Searle said.
But Mr Perrottet said he was “not going to engage in a hypothetical discussion” with Labor members “who have sought to damage this transaction from start to finish”.
Opposition Treasury spokesman Ryan Park slammed Mr Perrottet for “treating estimates like question time”.
“Labor asked serious questions about the financial risks that NSW taxpayers face if the Rozelle interchange experiences the same delays as the CBD light rail,” he said.
“But the Treasurer’s performance was arrogant, deceptive and evasive. He treated the Estimates process with contempt and refused to provide the most basic of information.”
The feud came after it was announced that NSW would get a $9.3 billion windfall from the sale of tolling rights on the WestConnex motorway to Transurban.
The sale of the government’s 51 per cent stake in the Sydney Motorway Corporation went ahead after the competition watchdog last week gave its tick of approval.