The NSW Government has again broken faith with the Broken Hill and Menindee communities by refusing to release the full business case for the much criticised $500 million Broken Hill pipeline according to Independent MLC Justin Field.
The criticism follows the release of documents last week following an order for the production of papers that was passed by the Legislative Council during the last sitting period.
In response to the order, hundreds of pages of documents related to the planning for the pipeline were publicly released but the Government failed to release the final business case citing Cabinet-in-Confidence.
Independent MLC Justin Field, who successfully moved the motion calling for the release of the business case, said, “This is an extreme breach of faith with the community and shows contempt for the Legislative Council from the Liberal National Government.
“Hiding behind Cabinet-in-Confidence is not good enough. This was a half billion dollar spend on a project that was opposed by many in the community and there should be transparency around the justification for the project. The pipeline has been built now, what possible reason can the Government have for hiding the full justification for the project. The public are right to be concerned that there remain hidden ulterior motives for the project.
“Following last week’s 4 Corners about infrastructure spending on Murray Darling water saving infrastructure projects and the lack of transparency around this spending and water savings, the community are furious about the ongoing lack of transparency around water management and spending in the basin. I will continue to pursue the Government through the Parliament to push for the release this business case for the Broken Hill community. There is a long way to go yet,” Mr Field said.
