RTBU Tram & Bus Media Release: Auditor General report shows Government can’t be trusted to plan for Newcastle
Auditor General report shows Government can’t be trusted to plan for Newcastle
An Auditor General report has revealed that the NSW government decided to spend hundreds of millions in tax payer money on a Newcastle tram without a business case and without consulting the community.
The Rail Tram and Bus Union’s Tram and Bus Division Secretary, David Babineau, said this was yet another instance of the NSW Government making decisions for people without them being involved in the process.
“Just like the privatisation of Newcastle’s buses, the NSW Government has now spent $368 million on a project that had no community consultation and didn’t have a business case to begin with.
“Once again the community of Newcastle is bearing the cost of a Government who can’t be bothered consulting with them at all before throwing hundreds of millions of tax payer money into a project of dubious public value.
“Unfortunately, Newcastle commuters who are already having to put up with the issues surrounding the privatisation of their bus network which has been disastrous, are now finding out that their tram network had no preliminary planning.
“Novocastrians, like the rest of NSW, deserve far better than this ongoing policy of wasting our money for political reasons.” Mr Babineau said.