Transport Minister Andrew Constance too busy to read report that is holding light rail payment
DESPITE the $63 million at stake, NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance says he’s drowning in so much paperwork he hasn’t read a secret light-rail flood study the City of Sydney is using to withhold a payment for the project.
NSW
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DESPITE the $63 million at stake, NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance says he’s drowning in so much paperwork he hasn’t read a secret light-rail flood study the City of Sydney is using to withhold a payment for the project.
Yesterday The Daily Telegraph revealed the council had refused to hand over the $63m payment, which was due last December, after a series of spats with Transport For NSW.
A major sticking point for the City of Sydney was a concern that Transport had not managed flood risk, with flood prone zones including parts of George St in the CBD and Centennial Park.
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Transport for NSW has refused to reveal the contents of the report for the past two days but it is understood the city council is concerned the drainage is not adequate to protect against flooding. But when quizzed about the report and why it wasn’t being released, Mr Constance said he hadn’t had time to read it.
“Look, I’m not across every engineering report at Transport,” Mr Constance said.
“The key point I would make is that the government’s expectation is that we mitigate against flooding and manage the water flow in the city and they have to work closely with Sydney Water to achieve that.”
Mr Constance also hit out at City of Sydney councillors Angela Vithoulkas and Dr Kerryn Phelps for their criticism.
“Any concerns regarding the safety of the project need to be managed by SafeWork, not by councillor Vithoulkas or councillor Phelps,” Mr Constance said.
The spat comes as light rail subcontractor Acciona appears in court today as part of its $1.2 billion lawsuit against the state government. It is a case that has caused embarrassment for Mr Constance, who earlier this year admitted Transport for NSW was an “unhappy customer” after The Daily Telegraph revealed light rail construction was running a year late.
Councillor Vithoulkas said concerns should not be ignored.
“I would have thought … flood prone areas, given we are talking about the vehicles that require electricity, would be something (Mr Constance) would be concerned about,” she said.
Opposition deputy leader Michael Daley said the government should “come clean” on the report.
A spokeswoman for Mr Constance said Transport had advised the report was in “draft” for “feedback from Planning department”.
“The department have said they plan on briefing the minister when it’s closer to being finalised,” she said.
A Planning spokesman said: “These reports outline that the proponent’s plans are reasonable and do not worsen existing flood characteristics or have an adverse impact on safety. We do not have safety concerns about flood mitigation strategy for Sydney Light Rail.”