DELAYING the truncation of the Newcastle rail line past Boxing Day will cost $220,000 a week, the Reverend Fred Nile has revealed.
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Mr Nile was in Newcastle again last Friday, as chairman of the second hearing into planning decisions made in Newcastle by the NSW government.
The cutting of the rail line and university parking dominated most of the day's proceedings, with speakers including the new lord mayor of Newcastle Nuatali Nelmes, newly-elected Newcastle state MP Tim Crakanthorp, Newcastle councillor Therese Doyle and former federal MP Sharon Grierson. There were also spokespeople for Newcastle university, Friends of King Edward Park, and the Hunter Business Chamber.
Mr Nile revealed in front of a packed public house on Friday that the NSW Premier Mike Baird had written to him, outlining the cost of delaying the truncation of the rail.
Although the state government was happy to provide costs for delaying the project, it is yet to provide any cost-benefit analysis to support its decision to cut the rail line at Wickham - a sticking point for many of the people who spoke last Friday.
Ms Grierson predicts the heavy rail corridor will be partly taken over by a multi-storey car park for the university. She also fears Bob Hawes, Hunter Development Corporation general manager, will become a scapegoat in the inquiry process.
Fairfax Media investigations over the past week have revealed Mr Hawes doubled his share in properties directly affected by the Newcastle rail line removal while he was general manager, and while the government considered and announced the line's removal.
Mr Hawes increased his 25 per cent share of a row of units at 1-9 Beresford Street to 50 per cent on the Hunter Development Corporation's pecuniary interest register between November 2011 and February 2013.
Ms Grierson called for a moratorium on the cutting of the rail line until the planning inquiry had released its findings in March.
GPT
GPT Development manager Angus Gordon said his company's strong position to cut the rail line was based on research they commissioned through The Hornery Institute.
On Friday, he promised to make the Hornery report available to the planning inquiry committee members.
Mr Gordon was asked why GPT took the risk of buying property in Newcastle mall when no announcement of a rail cut had been made by the then-Labor government, and then stood firm on delaying its own development until a decision on the rail was made by the Liberal government.
He took the question on notice.
At the inquiry Mr Gordon also revealed he had been to two closed-door meetings with government representatives since he took over as development manager at GPT in June 2013.
He said no commitment was made on truncation of rail at the closed-door meetings, but could not guarantee one wasn't made at another meeting before he stepped into the role.
Hunter Transport for Regional Development
HUNTER Transport for Regional Development spokesperson Alan Squire said the 2008 Hunter Valley Research Foundation survey used by the state government as reason to cut the rail line was flawed in its methods.
He said the state government had not properly researched or carried out a cost benefit analysis or alternatives for cutting the rail line, including an underground tunnel, more pedestrian crossings or a rail bridge.
Mr Squire promised to provide further evidence to the inquiry about two occasions when two senior public servants had told him that the light rail route was to go down Hunter Street, rather than the existing corridor, because "that's what [former lord mayor Jeff] McCloy wanted".
University of Newcastle
REPRESENTATIVES from the University of Newcastle were called before the inquiry, despite not making a submission.
Nat McGregor, the chief operating officer, and Allan Tracey, director for infrastructure and facilities services, spoke on the university's behalf.
Mr McGregor told the committee the university had no position in the rail line debate.
He said the move into the city was not contingent on the rail's removal, and was "a matter of economics".
He said the university would have a high turnover of students and staff throughout the day, with only 2600 students to be at the CBD campus at peak times.
Mr McGregor said a basement car park for the CBD campus was considered but never made it to the costing stage.
He said the university's focus was always on "park and ride" and cycling alternatives. The university would provide 20 parking spaces on Laman Street for its 4000 students expected to use the campus.