Legislative Council probe on impact of sale arrangements on public works expenditure
The New South Wales Parliament’s upper house has instituted a Public Works Committee inquiry into the Port of Newcastle lease sale.
The 2014 sale, which garnered $1.75 billion for the state, has been described as an opaque not least because the state government allegedly hid a cap on its ability to freely handle containers above which it would face a surcharge that would fund compensation to the leaseholders of Port Botany and Port Kembla.
‘The committee will be looking into the extent that current limitations on container port operations contribute to increased pressure on transport and freight infrastructure in New South Wales,” Shooters, Fishers and Farmers (SFF) Party member and committee chair Robert Brown says.
“The nature and status of the port commitment deeds will also be examined, as well as to what extent container port limitations contribute to additional costs for industries who are importing or exporting from New South Wales.”
The situation is already the subject of an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) examination on whether it contravened federal competition laws.
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