The Newcastle rail truncation will be one of the key decisions in focus at a parliamentary hearing on Friday.
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Christian Democrat Reverend Fred Nile and a multi-party select committee will hold the first of three public hearings as part of its investigation into recent state government planning decisions in the Hunter.
Two hearings will be held in Newcastle, the first at Novotel Newcastle Beach on Friday and the second at Newcastle Town Hall on November 21.
The third will be held in Sydney on November 24.
The hearing will investigate the government’s decision to cut Newcastle rail line at Wickham Station and replace trains with a light rail network into the city. It will also examine
decisions behind the Whitebridge development in Lake Macquarie and changes to building height limits in Newcastle CBD.
Hunter Development Corporation chairman Paul Broad and general manager Bob Hawes will be the first to front the hearing Friday morning.
Save Our Rail president Joan Dawson, vice-president Kim Cross and member Darrel Harris will appear in the witness box in the afternoon.
Representatives from The City of Newcastle and Lake Macquarie City Council will also appear at the hearing on Friday, which will start at 10.30am.
Spokespeople from Newcastle Inner City Residents Alliance, Whitebridge Community Alliance and Honeysuckle Residents Association will also speak at the hearing.
Greens MLC David Shoebridge will co-chair the hearing with Reverend Nile.
Mr Shoebridge established the committee to investigate recent planning decisions in the Hunter after corruption allegations were levelled at several of the region’s Liberal MPs this year.
More than 250 written submissions have been lodged for the committee to consider before it hands down its findings on March 5, three weeks before the state election.
The government has said it will close the line from Boxing Day, with buses to replace trains into Newcastle CBD for about two years until a light rail network is built.