Suburban Rail Loop Authority chair James Mackenzie using private email to plan project

There are concerns key planning discussions on the Suburban Rail Loop are being kept off the books and may never be seen by the Victorian public.

The chair of the Andrews government’s Suburban Rail Loop Authority has been using a private email address to discuss work and receive confidential documents, prompting secrecy concerns for the mega project.

Documents obtained through Freedom of Information show James Mackenzie regularly uses his own private email address in his work for the authority and other public agencies.

These emails include cabinet in confidence documents and high-level discussions about the SRL, which is estimated to cost up to $34.5 billion for just the first section.

Mr MacKenzie’s use of a private email has raised concern key planning discussions for the biggest and most expensive project in Victoria’s history are being kept off the books and may never be seen by the Victorian public.

Mr MacKenzie is one of the architects of the SRL and among a small group of people aware of the project before it was announced at the 2018 election.

The state opposition has also raised concerns the private emails could breach laws that require clear records be kept as part of government work.

Suburban Rail Loop Authority chair James MacKenzie has been using a private email address to discuss work and receive confidential documents

A Public Records Office Victoria spokeswoman said the laws covered “any record made or received by a public officer in the course of his duties”.

“Any email sent or received by a public servant (including senior staff or heads of public offices) in the course of their public duties is a public record, regardless of the communication channel used,” she said.

“An email sent by a public servant in the course of their duties from a private email address is a public record.

“It is the responsibility of the officer in charge of a public office to ensure their public office is meeting the mandatory requirements set out in the standards.”

Mr MacKenzie is also chair of the government’s Victorian Funds Management Corporation and Development Victoria.

He was tasked by Victorian Labor to review their 2014 state election costings, has done similar work for federal Labor and is a board member at Slater and Gordon.

It comes as the Herald Sun revealed the Victorian Ombudsman is examining politicisation of the public service.

The Suburban Rail Loop is gearing up to be the biggest and most expensive project in Victoria’s history.

The opposition have been battling to learn what Mr MacKenzie discusses on his private emails, with the results of the FOI request in contention at VCAT.

They have previously argued a search for correspondence involving the Suburban Rail Loop would not be complete unless it included a total examination of his private server rather than that of Development Victoria.

“It is outrageous and a clear breach of public sector rules for such a senior official as James MacKenzie to be conducting government business on this the state’s largest ever project through secret private email servers,” Shadow Treasurer David Davis said.

“It is a breach of proper record keeping but very much in keeping with the ramshackle process by which this project came to public notice, via a Facebook post from the Premier.

“Mr MacKenzie has clearly followed Hillary Clinton’s lead using a private server to avoid legitimate scrutiny.”

A SRLA spokesman said: “Many members of many boards, both government and private, use a single email address to receive information as standard practice – rather than having to manage multiple accounts.”

A Development Victoria spokeswoman said Mr Mackenzie had followed proper practice for formal business and board decision making.