Forcing people to sign secrecy agreements to secure compensation for property or cars damaged during construction of the North East Link toll road is designed to protect their privacy, not the government’s reputation, the state transport infrastructure minister says.
The Age this week revealed the North East Link had entered into more than 7000 confidentiality deeds and agreements, including with dozens of people with house and tyre damage caused during construction of the $26 billion project.
The North East Link is due to open in 2028.Credit: Joe Armao
Critics, including Liberal MPs and former City of Manningham councillor Stephen Mayne, have accused the project of over-the-top secrecy.
But Minister for Transport Infrastructure Gabrielle Williams said on Tuesday such non-disclosure agreements were typical for major projects.
“Such agreements are commonplace,” she said. “They have been across multiple governments, including former Liberal National governments, when it comes to major projects like these, that, of course, have as a feature some disruption in the course of building works.
“They allow us to protect the privacy of the individuals and families that we work with to make sure that we’re addressing their individual needs.”
Infrastructure lawyer Owen Hayford said that during major projects, the terms of commercial settlements – such as with landowners who suffered property damage – were commonly kept confidential to minimise what other affected third parties would demand.
Mayne said the council had been given scant detail about the compulsory acquisition of its land for the North East Link project and secret payouts to private landowners.
“If they’re doing that to us, that says that the whole payment of compensation is cloaked in over-the-top secrecy,” he said.
Williams denied such agreements served to protect governments from scrutiny. “I disagree with that assessment. I think that’s somewhat cynical,” she said.
Asked whether the use of such deals should be reviewed, Williams said it was important to work with people on a case-by-case basis.
“I think it would be a poor outcome if we were to move to a one-size-fits-all approach to addressing people’s concerns,” she said.
The North East Link, which is due to open in 2028, will connect the M80 in Greensborough to the Eastern Freeway in Bulleen. The cost of the project soared from an initial forecast of $10 billion to $26 billion, which the state government has blamed on the rising cost of materials, labour and environmental regulations.
Matthew Guy, the state Liberal member for Bulleen, has criticised the project for forcing residents whose houses were cracked during construction to sign confidentiality agreements.
Federal Liberal MP Keith Wolahan, whose seat covers the construction area, said the number of secrecy agreements linked to the project was ridiculous.
“From the very first meeting two years ago, that was what surprised me most: the number of people who got up and said that [they were subjected to gag orders to get repairs],” he said.
“Others said, ‘I have to be careful what I say.’ And I knew that for every person who said it, there were many that felt scared to say they even had one.”
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