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The most significant revitalisation of the Sydney CBD is in jeopardy of being sold out to the highest bidder, rather than delivering a long term vision for the city, said Shadow Treasurer, Mike Baird.
“It is beyond belief that the Labor Government appears to be heading down the same path as the Cross City Tunnel and Lane Cove Tunnel projects, in demanding upfront payments from bidding developers, as part of the assessment process for the winning tender,” said Mr Baird.
The early payment has been revealed in a response to a written Question in Parliament submitted by the Shadow Treasurer, amid concerns the development will struggle due to financial pressures on the developers, leading the government to increase commercial space at the expense of parkland.
6301 - BARANGAROO SITE
Mr Mike Baird to the Minister for Planning, and Minister for Redfern Waterloo -
How much money does the Government expect to receive as upfront payments from potential developers of the Barangaroo site?
ANSWER
Developers were encouraged to maximise their financial proposals, including early payments, as part of these bids. The terms of the proposals for developers of Barangaroo are commercial in confidence and are under extensive evaluation.*
“This is the same mistake Labor made with the Cross City Tunnel and Lane Cove Tunnel, where the Government was too focused on getting its hands on the cash, rather than looking at the long term viability of the project and the community’s needs.
“The Auditor-General’s report** into the Cross City Tunnel debacle was highly critical of the upfront payment scheme, along with the Government’s own ‘Review of Future Provision of Motorways in NSW’***.
“This is a one time opportunity to revalitise the City of Sydney, with the site covering 22 hectares, and it should not be dictated by how much money developers throw at the Government.
“We have a State Budget in the red and Treasury is looking at all options to grab more cash,” said Mr Baird.
A Liberal/Coalition Government will establish Infrastructure NSW to oversee all major projects to ensure greater transparency, co-ordination and re-focusing on delivering projects which match the communities’ priorities and needs – and not those of developers.
MEDIA: Wendy Black - 0418 532 534
* Hansard – Answers to Questions, June 16 2009
** NSW Audit Office Performance Report – The Cross City Tunnel, 2006
*** Review of the Future Provision of Motorways in NSW, Infrastructure Implementation Group, Premier’s Department, December 2005
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