Minister for the Hunter Gladys Berejiklian has told a budget estimates hearing there’s no need for a review of recent development approvals in the lower Hunter after the developer donation scandal.
Ms Berejiklian told the hearing she was confident the government had acted appropriately and based its decisions on each project’s merits.
Ms Berejiklian, who’s also the NSW Transport Minister, was asked whether she had met with developer Jeff McCloy, who resigned as Lord Mayor of Newcastle over the donation scandal.
“I’ve met extensively with a number of stakeholders in the Hunter region,” she told the hearing.
She also wouldn’t say whether she’d met with developer Hilton Grugeon, who paid former Member for Charlestown Andrew Cornwell more than $10,000 in a sham artwork sale.
You can bet your bottom dollar that the stakeholders Gladys Berejiklian has met with include most if not all of the groups and people who have appeared at ICAC. If she had not met with them she would happily say so. I’m glad, that Glad is confident in the government decisions, because someone has to be and there are many stakeholders in Newcastle who are not happy. There are also many who are not happy with alleged government consultation, as it appears to have been very selective. This is not consultation it is whitewash. if the rail truncation decision has been made on its merits why won’t Glad release the detail of those merits? Is it because any independent transport analysis would be to retain the heavy rail into Newcastle station?