Transport Department has hired a private investigator to hunt down leaks to the media: Labor

Labor has accused government of wasting thousands of dollars on a “witch hunt”.

Opposition transport spokesman Tom Koutsantonis.

The Transport Department is being accused of spending thousands of dollars to hunt down staff members who leak secret agency information to the media.

The department has hired a private investigator to weed out informants from within its ranks following a series of leaks about the privatisation of Adelaide’s train network, Labor transport spokesman Tom Koutsantonis says.

Mr Koutsantonis said a transport insider also told him the department had engaged external lawyers to investigate the procurement process for the privatisation.

He described the situation as “scandalous”.

“They’re just trying to find someone who did their job and told the public about incompetence – that’s a witch hunt,” Mr Koutsantonis said.

He said leaks being investigated included that companies vying for the contract were offered a $1 million “loser fee,” and that participants threatened to withdrawn from the process.

Mr Koutsantonis also said the hiring of an external law firm to investigate the privatisation procurement process “raises more questions than alleviating any concerns”.

He questioned why external lawyers were engaged when the auditor-general was conducting an inquiry.

Infrastructure and transport minister Corey Wingard. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Kelly Barnes

The Advertiser contacted the private investigator said to be involved and asked if he had been hired by the Transport Department to investigate leaks to the media.

“I don’t have any comment to make about that,” he said.

A spokeswoman for Transport Minister Corey Wingard said the matters were part of an ongoing investigation and referred The Advertiser to the Transport Department.

A Department spokesman said the agency took “any potentially unlawful release of information seriously and refers any such matters to relevant authorities”.

“The Department does not comment on any investigation that may or may not be undertaken,” he said.

The Government handed over the operation of the metropolitan rail system to Keolis Downer on January 31, under a 12-year, $2.14 billion contract.

Labor has been campaigning against the privatisation, saying it is more expensive to outsource the operation of the network than it is to keep it in public hands.

The Government says the privatisation will save taxpayers $118 million over 12 years.

As The Advertiser reported last month, Keolis Downer is borrowing about 100 public sector train drivers who did not transfer across to the company because it did not have enough drivers when its contract began.

Originally published as Transport Department has hired a private investigator to hunt down leaks to the media: Labor