NSW Coalition donors win bus contracts

The NSW government has awarded or extended lucrative bus contracts to Coalition donors who have collectively provided tens of thousands of dollars.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian. Picture: AAP

The NSW government has awarded or extended lucrative bus company contracts to Coalition donors who have collectively provided tens of thousands of dollars to the government’s re-election.

Buslines Group, the third­-­largest private operator in the state, was awarded a $271,543 ­contract in 2018 to operate on-­demand buses in the marginal Coalition­ seat of Lismore.

It subsequently made $7000 in payments to the NSW Nationals, according to disclosures dated September 29, 2018, naming Transport Minister Andrew Constance­ and former Lismore MP Thomas George as recipients.

One month later, Buslines Group paid $3800 at a Liberal Party fundraiser — the donation named Mr Constance and Nat­ional­s MP Melinda Pavey, then the roads minister. A further $450 was donated the next February to the NSW Liberals, again naming Mr Constance as the recipient. Those donations, made out to the individual Coalition MPs, are collected by the NSW Liberals and NSW Nationals, who then decide how the money will be spent.

Under laws introduced in September last year, cash donations of more than $100 are now banned and donations are capped at $6400 a year for a party or group.

Others named in disclosures of donations from bus companies awarded contracts include Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Deputy Premier John Barilaro.

The money was provided during professional and social engagements including private dinners and at fundraising events. Some companies donated after their contracts were awarded, others after contracts were extended.

A NSW Liberals spokesman said MPs received no individual­ benefit because the money was collected and distributed by the party. “All donations to the Liberal Party are received and disclosed by the party at arm’s length from MPs,” he said.

Representatives from several other bus companies — including Punchbowl Bus Company, which operates services in southern Sydney — attended the same fundraising dinner as Buslines.

At the time of the event, it had been awarded an extension on an existing contract with the government worth more than $38m, accordin­g to tender documents.

During the dinner, the compan­y made a $1900 donation to the NSW Liberals. It also made a donation of $2000 to the NSW Nationals at a separate dinner one month earlier. A donation of $1100 was made to Labor.

Nowra Coaches, which has a $23.4m contract to provide bus services in Nowra on the south coast, gave $8575 in donations to the NSW Liberals. This included $4000 made out to Mr Constance and Mr George and a further $2000 made out to Ms Berejiklian and Mr Barilaro for a dinner in September 2018. Another $1980 was declared for a “budget lunch”, along with $295 for a fundraiser described as “Drinks with Premier, Treasurer and Ministers”.

The payments made out to Mr Constance and Mr George were provided two months after the company was granted a two-year extension on its contract. It ­donated $1100 to NSW Labor.

Busways, which operates ser­vices­ in western Sydney, the central­ coast and regional areas of NSW, has a two-year contract for the government worth $89m, a contract not put through an open tender process. It donated $4690 to the NSW Liberals during the 2018-19 reporting period.

A spokeswoman said its representatives attended functions to hear from government representatives about their plans for transport infrastructure. Other ­com­pan­ies named did not respond to requests for comment.