WESTCONNEX REPORT CONFIRMS A CULTURE OF WASTE, MISMANAGEMENT AND SECRECY UNDER THE BEREJIKLIAN LIBERAL GOVERNMENT

A Parliamentary committee has delivered a damning indictment on the culture of secrecy and cover up at the heart of the Berejiklian Liberal Government over its management of the largest infrastructure project in the country, the giant WestConnex toll road.

In a 200 page report, the Public Accountability Committee lays bare how the Liberals used the cloak of the Sydney Motorway Corporation – the government controlled private entity set up to deliver WestConnex – to hide their waste and mismanagement.

The Committee found the State Government was not up front about the business case for the road, failed to get an independent assessment of it and that the SMC “weakened” the disclosure and accountability rules governing the project. 

It also said that the recent sale of a majority stake in the road to the private sector is likely to “exacerbate existing transparency and accountability concerns”.

The report comes after a deluge of negative reports into the Government’s terrible mismanagement of major infrastructure and the waste that has attended it.

Labor has found more than $13 billion of the $70 billion that the Liberals’ have reaped from privatisation has been wasted on cost blowouts on, among other things, Sydney Light Rail and the Sydney Gateway. 

Last week the independent Auditor-General found that sale of Ausgrid had been botched and was possibly in contravention of ICAC guidelines. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission found that a clause holding back the economic development of Newcastle in the sale of ports in 2013 was anti-competitive and illegal.

Today’s findings come a day ahead of an update on the Budget which is expected to show significant structural weaknesses in the state’s economy as a result of the Liberals’ privatisation agenda. 

NSW Opposition Leader Michael Daley said: “The Liberals’ record on Westconnex is emblematic of the way they have handled major infrastructure projects across the state.

“At $20 billion WestConnex has doubled in cost, eaten up all the proceeds of the sale of the state’s electricity assets and it is still under a cloud a secrecy.

“This report confirms all our concerns about this Government’s failure to properly plan and implement major infrastructure projects. What makes it worse is that the Liberals went to such lengths to hide it all from the public. 

“It is a terrible indictment of this Government and will not happen under a Daley Labor government."

NSW PORTS A BAD PRIVATISATION - RECYCLING OF ASSETS OR OUTRAGEOUS ATI-COMPETITIVE CONDUCT

The Liberals zealotry of privatisation will hit the courts after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission alleged that the agreements entered into by the NSW Liberal government in leasing Port Botany and Port Kembla are anti-competitive and unlawful.

I have a lot to say about the stupidity of this zealotry 6 years ago in parliament which you can ready here.

Matt O'Sullivan of the Sydney Morning Herald reports today NSW ports privatisation in firing line after ACCC takes legal action.

Why does it take 6 years to work these Liberals out? Where has the ACCC been for 6 years? The could have stopped it then. Sometime I just wish I was wrong.

LIBERAL'S TRAIN TIMETABLE A FLOP - AUDITOR GENERAL'S REPORT CONFIRMS

The Berejiklian Government’s train timetable – introduced a year ago despite warnings from transport experts - has been confirmed a failure in a new report from the state’s independent watchdog.

Despite protestations by Transport Minister Andrew Constance to the contrary, the NSW Auditor General found that punctuality on Sydney’s trains fell when the new timetable was introduced exactly a year ago.

Trains were running on time on 93.8 per cent of services prior to the introduction of the new timetable but fell to 89.8 per cent in its aftermath.

“Prior to the timetable change, three out of four train lines met the punctuality target. After the timetable change, only one train line out of five met the punctuality target,” the Auditor General wrote.

Yet the Transport Minister insists his new timetable is a success despite delays, periodic chaos and meltdowns. He went live with the timetable in late November despite not having enough drivers or contingency plans in place to deal with unforeseen events. 

The Auditor General’s report also found Sydney’s commuters expressed their frustration by complaining more. In 2017/18 there was a 29 per cent increase in complaints about Sydney’s trains.

Shambles at Green Square Train Station - Overdevelopment causing crisis

I have been sounding the warning for several years now about the impact of the redevelopment in and around Green Square.

It is one of the largest urban renewal projects ever undertaken in this country and by the time it is finished, the population in just three square kilometres will be a jaw dropping 61 000. It will be the most densely populated area in Australia, bar none.

It is approaching a crisis point.

Tuesday morning, last week, I had a constituent send me a photo of Green Square train station. It was extraordinary.

There were queues of people backing up off the platform, and up to the station mezzanine, where they were being prevented from descending to the platform by station attendants, because even the platforms were over capacity.

Not only are the trains too full, but now the platforms can’t even accommodate the passengers, and they are being prevented from even entering the station. 

Matt O’Sullivan, in yesterday’s Sydney Morning Herald, reported that weekday patronage at that station has surged by 80% in just three years, jumping from 11 000 to 21 000 daily visits between 2014 and 2017. https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/transport-mess-passengers-at-one-sydney-station-nearly-double-in-three-years-20181119-p50gwf.html

But Green Square is nowhere near finished. There are hundreds more buildings yet to be finished and tens of thousands of more residents to come, some in the very near future.

I have always held the intellect of this government in very low regard, but even this astounds me.

Make no mistake: the NSW Liberals, over eight long years, have done this themselves.

When Premier Keneally removed the station access fee at Green Square and Mascot stations that line was jokingly referred to as the “ghost train”.

Has no idiot understood that you just can’t keep increasing population density, even on a transport route, if you cannot increase the capacity of the transport network? 

I’ve been calling for a moratorium on further population and density increases in Green Square for five years, but the NSW Government has just ignored me. Now we are going to pay the price. 

There are no new roads, the buses and trains are full, and there is no way to increase capacity. Sydney, under the NSW Liberals, is slowly suffocating itself.

Everywhere you go in Sydney, but especially in my electorate, apartment blocks spring up, seemingly overnight. Every block in Sydney is being transformed from a shop or a terrace house into a multi-storey unit development. It is time for this madness to stop.

PREMIER’S KEY PROJECTS HIT BY $21.7 BILLION COST BLOWOUT

The cost of the Premier’s three key infrastructure projects has doubled thanks to the Berejiklian Government’s waste and mismanagement.

The bill for Sydney light rail, WestConnex and a new road to the port and airport has gone from a combined $11.6 billion to $21.7 billion, according to the Liberal State Government’s own figures.

The figures lay bare the full extent of the Government’s waste, mismanagement and wrong priorities as children across the state are forced to study in a record number of demountables and elective surgery waiting lists mount in the state’s hospitals.

In eight years the State Government is yet to cut a single ribbon on one of its own major transport projects.

The cost of the Premier’s pet project, Sydney Light Rail, has ballooned from $1.6 billion to $3.1 billion now that the Government is facing a $1.1 billion lawsuit from its own contractors.

The newly-privatised WestConnex is yet to be finished and is at least $6.8 billion over budget. In order to minimise costs the Premier and her WestConnex Minister Stuart Ayres have scaled back the size of the project by carving off roads and handing them back to the roads agency to finish.

The Sydney Gateway, a road to the Kingsford Smith Airport and Port Botany, which was originally part of WestConnex, has blown out by up to $1.8 billion. 

In contrast, NSW Opposition Leader Michael Daley will give the community and experts a greater say on major infrastructure projects. NSW Labor’s Public Planning Inquiries will end the secrecy, deals and bungles that have hit the Berejiklian Government’s infrastructure build.

Mr Daley said; “This Premier and her government have gouged NSW taxpayers $21.7 billion for three infrastructure projects without delivering a single thing.

“This is further proof that this government has the wrong priorities, spending billions on Sydney Stadiums whilst hospital waiting lists blow out, there’s chaos on the rail system and are kids are forced to study in demountable classrooms.”

“This government is bloated with the proceeds of its sale of the state’s electricity and other assets.

“They are spending taxpayers’ money on the wrong priorities and wasting it with their lack of proper planning and an inability to manage projects.” 

“I’M GOING TO PUT TRANSPARENCY BACK INTO THE PLANNING FOR SYDNEY” – DALEY

Under a Daley Labor Government major infrastructure projects will be subject to Public Planning Inquiries (PPIs) to minimise disruption to local communities and ensure full transparency

Mr Daley said his plan would end the era of Berejiklian Government secrecy and bungles.

“It will bring to an end eight years of the Liberal Government’s secret deals with developers, toll road operators and stadium builders,” Mr Daley said.

“It will prevent wasteful disasters like the Sydney light rail and vanity projects like stadium rebuilds,” Mr Daley said.

If elected as Premier next March, Mr Daley will initiate Public Planning Inquiries (PPIs) into all infrastructure projects valued at $1 billion or more to ensure proper planning processes are followed and communities and independent experts are properly consulted.

Unlike the current Liberal planning process, PPIs would ensure that no approval for a project is granted or work commenced before a full business case is provided and independent experts have assessed the project.

A PPI will examine the feasibility of all options and do so in the full glare of the public, calling witnesses to give evidence and disclosing reports and proceedings.

PPIs would avoid planning failures of the past when, for example, bureaucrats were instructed not to examine public transport options for the southern suburbs of Sydney, which resulted in an inadequate first phase of the F6 motorway instead.

PPIs will ensure there is not a repetition of projects like the Sydney light rail disaster, which proceeded despite advice to the contrary by independent experts, Infrastructure NSW, and Infrastructure Australia. Similarly, the multi-billion dollar Northern Beaches Link tunnel promised in the heat of a by-election before any thorough appraisal was done.

Mr Daley said; “For too long decisions that affect the public have been made behind closed doors.

“This has to end. I want to bring transparency back to the planning for Sydney.

“The developers and builders get to have their say – so why not communities and independent experts. 

“Every project the Government builds is paid for with taxpayers’ money. Taxpayers are the ultimate owners of these assets and have every right to have their say.

“I’m a great believer in consulting the experts and there is no better authority on what benefits the community than the people who live there. It’s time that we allowed the public to come along and have their say.

“People should feel that they have a say in how their money is being spent n their communities. We can no longer ambush communities like this government has done on major projects like the light rail, NorthConnex or WestConnex.

“When the Government is cutting these corporate deals there is no one from the community sitting at the table – that must end.”

DALEY HELPS LIGHTEN THE LOAD FOR FAMILIES – LABOR TO WAIVE BIRTH CERTIFICATE FEE

Labor Leader, Michael Daley, today announced a Labor government would waive the $58 fee for NSW birth certificates.

This will give around 100,000 babies and their parents a bit more to spend on the essentials.

If elected next March, a Daley Labor government would add one free standard birth certificate to other initiatives that help out with the rising cost of living. 

After eight years of the Liberal Coalition Government, families are doing it tough. Power bills have risen by 59 per cent since 2011 and Western Sydney motorists using the M4 are paying more than $2,000 a year in tolls.

Mr Daley, a father of four, recognises that state governments can and should do what they can to help families balance the household budget. 

The Parliamentary Budget Office forecasts 99,000 birth registrations for 2019/20, the year in which Labor will implement the policy.

Ditching the fee will help families of newborn children defray a small cost at one of the most costly and intense times of their lives. 

It joins other Labor Lightening the Load policies such as:

• Cashback on the M4 for private vehicles to help pay for the unfair toll;
• Fare refunds for avoidable delays of more than 30 minutes on trains; and 
• Free travel for school children.

The policy will cost $16.8 million over the forward estimates and has been verified by the independent Parliamentary Budget Office.

Mr Daley said; "This is a small step to helping parents of newborns. These parents have big expenses - prams, cots, clothes, nappies and car seats for starters. They don’t need to fork out $58 simply to provide a birth certificate for their little one.” 

"I believe governments should be about making people's lives easier.

"We are not here to make a buck off you but to help you get ahead in life.

"I know that when Christina and I had our little ones every dollar and cent helped. 

“Labor will do whatever it can to lighten the load.”

VICTORY OVER DEVELOPERS IN BOARDING HOUSE PLANNING BATTLE

We have achieved a significant victory over property developers, with recent changes to planning laws introduced, designed to prevent overdevelopment in residential streets, and “break the business model” of exploitative boarding houses.

After a two and a half year campaign by me, the Affordable Rental Housing State Environmental Planning Policy (ARHSEPP) was quietly amended in June to include a requirement for each new boarding house to provide half an off-street car space for each bedroom. Previously, a parking space only needed to be provided for every five bedrooms. 

Developers are using the AHRSEPP as a backdoor method of increasing densities in low density (R2 Low Density Residential Zones) areas to avoid Council’s planning rules. I believe this change will drastically undermine their business model.

Since 2009, Randwick City Council has approved more than 500 boarding houses under the ARHSEPP in close proximity to the University of New South Wales, supposedly to meet the demand for affordable student accommodation. The State’s planning laws made it practically impossible for councils to refuse applications of this nature, even if Council believed that the developments were inappropriate.

A survey conducted by Randwick City Council in 2015 revealed that the rents charged were anything but affordable, with a single bedroom as small as 12m2 in a boarding house costing between $390-$450 a week. By comparison, the median cost of a one bedroom private dwelling in the LGA was $480 per week. Those costs are no doubt considerably higher in 2018, and are wildly out of reach of the ordinary university student’s budget.

This is welcome news for residents in the Kensington and Kingsford area who have put up with developers running riot in their streets for far too long.

This chance will give the power back to local Councils to decide whether they want boarding houses in their area, or not. 

It’s no small feat to convince a Liberal Government to take a step back from their overdevelopment agenda, so I’m grateful to the Minister for listening to my suggestions.

FREE TRAIN TRAVEL FOR SCHOOL KIDS TO EASE THE COST OF LIVING

School children will be able to enjoy free travel on public transport under a Labor Government that is focused on putting the family budget first. 

Official department forecasts obtained under freedom of information laws reveal that the Berejiklian Government is set to charge children $44 million in transport fares in 2019-20.

Labor’s Fair Fares policy will forego this revenue to abolish all charges for children under 16 years of age or while they remain at school. 

Labor recognises that the cost of public transport for children is putting increased pressure on families who are already struggling with higher power bills, tolls and a host of state taxes under the Berejiklian-Barilaro Coalition Government. 

Under the current rules primary school-aged children are eligible for free travel only when travelling to and from school, and if their home is more than 2.3 kilometres away by walking, rising to 2.9 kilometres for secondary school-aged children. 

Labor’s Fair Fares policy recognises these restrictive and arbitrary conditions make it harder for families, or those participating in after school or weekend sport. 

Free bus and train travel will also encourage children to use public transport more and ease congestion on Sydney’s already clogged roads. 

The free travel for school children initiative is in addition to Labor’s commitment to refund train fares for passengers for avoidable delays to their journey, and lowering the station access fee for the airport to $5. 

Ron Hoenig's Heffron Gazette - Winter 2018

Residents should have received their copy of the Winter edition of my newsletter called the "Ron Hoenig Heffron Gazette". It is available for download here:

EPA SHOULD BE SACKED - NSW GOVERNMENT NOT FIT TO GOVERN - DAMNING AUDITOR GENERALS REPORT - HUMAN HEALTH AT RISK

 On the 30 May 2013 I said the following to the House and no-one was listening:

"It was not a failure of the Act, but a failure by the Environment Protection Authority to be accountable to various Ministers for more than two decades. For decades the Environment Protection Authority has failed this State in not exercising its statutory powers.

The Environment Protection Authority has had the power to prevent incidents such as the Orica spill at Newcastle and to prevent people from suffering as a result of contamination at Port Botany groundwater contamination, air pollution or contamination from coal dust at Newcastle. The Environment Protection Authority has the power to prosecute when there is a breach but it has failed the State, just as the State Pollution Control Commission, its predecessor, failed. It was ...legislation...gave the Environment Protection Authority power to tackle those with vested interests and polluters and to take action to protect the people of this State. However, like its predecessor decades ago, the Environment Protection Authority has been a failure. This failure has occurred under the Minister's watch and she is accountable to the House for the conduct of the Environment Protection Authority."

Today, 5 years later somebody listened. The NSW Auditor-General found that the EPA is failing to fulfill its basic functions to properly regulate and monitor licences that impact on NSW drinking water supplies, and failing to stop illegal dumping.

The report indicates that these failures could harm the environment and risk human health.

The performance audit report Regulation of Water Pollution of Drinking Water Catchments and Illegal Disposal of Waste reported that:

• These deficiencies [identified in the report] mean that the EPA cannot be confident that it conducts compliance and enforcement activities consistently across the State and that licensees are complying with their licence conditions or the Act. (p1)
• The EPA also does not monitor the consistency or quality of its regulatory activities conducted across the State. (p2, analysis on p11)
• The EPA cannot be sure that correct licence conditions have been set for discharges into water. (p2, analysis on p16)
• The triennial 2016 Audit of Sydney Drinking Water Catchment report, identified that Lake Burragorang had experienced worsening water quality over the past 20 years due to increased salinity. The report recommended that the sources and implications of the increased salinity levels be investigated. To date, no NSW Government agency has addressed the report's recommendation. (p2, analysis on p18)
• The EPA’s unreliable detection practices, and weaknesses in its governance approach, limits its effectiveness to consistently apply regulatory action. (p3, analysis on p13)
• Given our finding that the EPA does not effectively detect breaches and non-compliances, there is a risk that it is not applying appropriate regulatory actions for many breaches and non-compliances. (p30)
• The EPA did not achieve the strategy target of a 30 per cent reduction over four years in instances of large scale illegal dumping in Sydney, the Illawarra, Hunter and Central Coast from 2011 levels. (p3, analysis on p33)
• The EPA does limited monitoring of its performance in protecting the environment. (p4, analysis on p14)

The State's Opposition is calling on the Premier for current Minister Upton responsible for the EPA to be sacked. We are talking about human health. Is that not the government's prime responsibility? In my view after 8 long years the people should sack the Liberal government. "It's time."

ANOTHER COMPANY SUES BEREJIKLIAN GOVERNMENT FOR LIGHT RAIL DISASTER

The Premier’s mismanagement and waste on her CBD light rail project has been exposed yet again with news that another contractor is suing her Government over false and misleading conduct.

Queensland-based company VAC Group is suing the Berejiklian-Barilaro Government in the Federal Court for breach of contract. It is just the latest court action being launched against the State Government as a result of its incompetent management of the CBD light rail. Last month light rail contractor Acciona launched a $1.2 billion court action saying the government misled it on how many utilities would have to be moved during construction. 

Australian-owned VAC Group, which maps and manages underground utilities for infrastructure projects, is laying a similar charge as Acciona at the Government’s feet – misleading and deceptive conduct. 

The Premier and her Infrastructure Minister Andrew Constance continue to boast that the project is running on time and on budget, when the truth is very obviously that the project is going to be well overdue. This waste and mismanagement on the Premier’s pet project is what I have repeatedly asserted for some years. 

There is not further independent evidence needed than the NSW Auditor General’s report on the CBD light rail said that the Government “did not effectively plan and procure the project to ensure it maximised value for money for New South Wales.”

The latest court documents exposes as nonsense the repeated boasts by the Premier and her Infrastructure Minister Andrew Constance that they are experts at delivering infrastructure. 

The CBD light rail project has been mismanaged from the outset. The Labor Opposition is right when it says; “Infrastructure NSW said don’t build it and the NSW Auditor General has made it clear that the project was being atrociously managed. This has to be the contender for one of the most disastrous infrastructure projects in NSW’s history. It is killing businesses along the corridor and making us a laughing stock internationally.” 

“When projects are not being properly managed, legal disputes and expensive court cases are always likely. “Small businesses are suffering while the delays mount up – and the Premier has to accept the blame for this shambles.”