Taxes down the Metro drain

New South Wales taxpayers are about to get a better idea of how much of their money was spent on the deferred Metro.

Greens MLC Lee Rhiannon last week won support in the Legislative Council for an audit report that deals with compensation claims to be released.

The Deloitte report refers to compensation for corporations who had been contracted during the Metro’s planning process.

Ms Rhiannon said it was disappointing that the government had tried to keep the report under wraps.

“The public has a legitimate interest in understanding the full story behind the compensation claims associated with this failed project,” she said.

“Millions of dollars worth of public money has been wasted … but with the release of this audit report the community will have a better idea of the final figure.”

A spokesperson from NSW Transport and Infrastructure said the review and determination of claims by major contract tenderers was “currently being finalised”.

But these companies are not the only ones lining up for compensation.

Several small businesses around Town Hall, Pyrmont and Rozelle lodged claims in March for valuation and legal fees related to acquisition proceedings.

Ms Rhiannon said these businesses should be compensated first.

“The effects of government planning on local businesses are often forgotten,” she said.

“Small businesses often don’t have the financial security that large companies do, and so the losses incurred by small business should be prioritised over any projected loss of revenue by large construction companies.”

Town Hall businessman Jason Blaiklock from Australian Opal Cutters said he was having difficulty “getting conclusions from Sydney Metro.”

“It’s extremely frustrating to be put on hold for three months … there seems to be a very one-sided negotiating position where the tenants are being held hostage by the internal regulations of Sydney Metro,” he said.

“That’s despite Sydney Metro making continual assertions that things will be done quickly and the invoices which are bona-fide will be prioritised or even paid on invoice and then you get nothing.”

A NSW Transport and Infrastructure spokesperson told City News last month that services firm KPMG was independently assessing the small business claims on a case-by-case basis.