Opposition accuses Minns government of misleading public over Moore Park business case
Opposition demands Labor go “back to the drawing board” after documents revealed a business case on the Moore Park golf course revamp raised red flags over the project.
Damien Tudehope has slammed the Minns government over the Moore Park business case fiasco, with the Opposition Leader in the Upper House demanding Labor “go back to the drawing board”.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, the opposition treasury spokesman said it was inconceivable the government would attempt to hide the financial implications of the original revamp plan.
“What the papers now show is that the government’s rhetoric around Moore Park does not match the reality of the financial advice that it was receiving,” he said.
“The public are being seriously misled in relation to this project and now that we have these papers this is a project which should go back to the drawing board.”
While the government has set aside the business case to pursue a new plan they claim can be delivered for $50m, Mr Tudehope said the original work by consultants was cause for major concern.
“This does not have merit in terms of the business case that was available to the government since the outset,” he added.
Opposition planning spokesman Scott Farlow also took aim at Planning Minister Paul Scully who told budget estimates in March – a month after the business case was completed – that speculation the Moore Park remodelling would cost around $200m was a figure “plucked out of the air”.
“But these documents show that an even higher figure was staring him in the face,” Mr Farlow said.
“The business case shows that the government has been on this path with full knowledge from the business case that there was no financial benefit with this decision and the greatest benefit was preserved by maintaining Moore Park as an 18-hole golf course.”
Mr Tudehope also lamented the nine-month battle to have the business case unveiled, after the government continually claimed it was cabinet-in-confidence.
“It was only (released) because there were threats by the Upper House to remove the leader of the government in the Upper House,” he said.
“The government seems to think it can thwart transparency at every turn whether it’s in relation to Glebe Island or Moore Park. It’s the way government is approaching decision making.”
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