It’s a concern that there are still more questions than answers surrounding the state government’s decision to cut Newcastle’s heavy rail line, as workers continue to remove more infrastructure each day.
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The latest twist in the tale is the revelation of a confidential cabinet document that suggests the government ignored expert advice about the best light rail route in favour of an option that would be more expensive, slower for commuters and allow more opportunities for development along the rail corridor.
The document is damaging to the government’s efforts to allay fears that the rail corridor will be developed after the train line is removed.
Former Newcastle MP Tim Owen appeared before the upper house inquiry into Newcastle and Hunter planning decisions yesterday after his replacement, Labor MP Tim Crackanthorp, announced last week that one of his staffers had found the cabinet document in the Hunter Street electoral office late last year.
Rather than shedding light on the mystery, Mr Owen told the inquiry under oath that he could not recall ever seeing the document.
Mr Crackanthorp was also criticised for not appearing yesterday to explain how the document was found.
But, how the document was found and who put it there is not the key issue.
The fact is that the document exists and it again calls into question whether the government is making decisions based on the best interests of the wider Hunter.
Given the implications the rail cut will have for commuters from outside Newcastle, the Mercury has advocated for the truncation to be delayed until the community can be sure that the decision-making process was free of undue influence.
The emergence of the cabinet document is just another example of why it is important that questions begin to be answered.
