The dual roles, in the form of the Department of Planning and government property developer UrbanGrowth NSW, need to be separated to dispel the ‘‘perception’’ that the private sector had influenced key decisions, the inquiry recommended in its final report into city planning handed down on Tuesday.
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It said the government should make Newcastle City Council the ‘‘principal planning authority’’ for land in the city, including sites managed or controlled by the Hunter Development Corporation.
But the committee behind the inquiry conceded no evidence of corrupt conduct or influence was uncovered, and the corruption watchdog has already ruled out investigating the conflicts of interest it had identified.
That led one government inquiry member and MP to label the inquiry little more than a political ‘‘witch hunt’’.
The only findings made were about Hunter Development Corporation general manager Bob Hawes, for a ‘‘significant and ongoing conflict of interest’’ relating to his ownership of properties at Wickham where a new transport interchange is planned.
The inquiry also rebuked the corporation and its board for failing to adequately address the conflict of interest, which it said ‘‘has damaged public confidence in the integrity of the Hunter Development Corporation and public decision-making in Newcastle’’ and the broader region.
Mr Hawes recently sold the properties.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption said in January there were ‘‘no sufficient indicators’’ of corrupt conduct to warrant it investigating.
The ICAC also ruled out investigating allegations it labelled as ‘‘vague’’ that UrbanGrowth had influenced the Planning Department in relation to the truncation of Newcastle’s heavy rail line.
However, the parliamentary inquiry found cause for alarm in the dealings between the two government organisations, recommending they be properly separated.
It questioned the ‘‘appropriateness of the commercial partnership’’ between UrbanGrowth and the GPT Group, where the private company sold two-thirds of its Hunter Street mall holdings to the government under an agreement for a joint redevelopment.
UrbanGrowth had the ability to influence planning approvals ‘‘that benefit the partnership and therefore GPT’’, the inquiry said.
It also criticised the swift second consultation period before changes to the redevelopment site’s development controls were made, and has called for the government to reduce height limits in the east end to 27 metres.
The inquiry said the truncation of the rail line should not have proceeded on Boxing Day, and it remained convinced that the truncation decision was based on a ‘‘flawed cost benefit analysis’’.
It also noted controversy about a 2013 cabinet minute setting out advice about the light rail route, which was released by Labor. The report said differing accounts about how the document was found meant the inquiry could not determine the circumstances. Labor MP Tim Crakanthorp claimed it was found in the office he inherited from Liberal Tim Owen, who could not recall ever seeing it.
On other matters, the inquiry noted concerns put to it about whether or not former lord mayor Jeff McCloy had torpedoed state government support for the art gallery redevelopment.
But it concluded the government had ‘‘never committed to provide funds to the project’’ and the committee ‘‘does not consider there has been any undue influence with respect to the state government’s withdrawal of support’’.
Inquiry chairman and Christian Democrats MP Fred Nile said the committee was disappointed the government had not been frank in its dealings with the inquiry, and that ICAC had said it wouldn’t investigate. He said the council had been ‘‘pushed aside’’ from important decisions.
But government MP and committee member Catherine Cusack said the inquiry was ‘‘set up by our opponents to try and prove a corrupt connection to those activities investigated by ICAC and the planning decisions made in Newcastle’’.
‘‘What we have found is our political opponents have gone through this thoroughly for months and there is not one shred of evidence to support all the smear and innuendo,’’ she said. ‘‘It’s been a witch hunt and this report today proves almost all of it was without foundation.’’
But Greens MP John Kaye said it ‘‘uncovered a substantial problem with planning in NSW that stretches well beyond the Hunter and into Sydney’’.
This article first appeared on The Herald website.