Rush to close toxic land deal revealed

  • 📰 newscomauHQ
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 50 sec. here
  • 2 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 23%
  • Publisher: 77%

Australia Headlines News

Australia Latest News,Australia Headlines

A land deal that earned a developer a $15.5m windfall was made without a valuation or negotiation, revealing a “stunning level of incompetence”.

The six-hectare site at Camellia, near Parramatta, is going to be used as a maintenance facility for the Parramatta light rail project.

But an independent valuation, which put a price tag of only $15.5m on the site, wasn’t done until after the land was bought. In the November 2019 report, the authors write Transport officials didn’t wait for the project to be fully approved before buying the land “due to the availability of the land on the open market”.

That increased asking price was “based on vendor expectations of the development value of the property”, the report states. The audit also found there weren’t regular checks for conflicts of interest done during the acquisition process, exposing the agency to “an increased risk of perceived or actual fraud/corruption in the commercial land acquisition process”.

Artist's impression of the light rail at Camellia. The handling of a land deal in the area has been referred to ICAC.“Given I have made referrals on this matter to other independent agencies, I can’t comment any further at this stage,” Mr Constance said in a statement.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 9. in AU

Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

People rush to leave NSW as closures loomPeople are rushing to Sydney Airport in a desperate bid to leave the city ahead of Christmas with the threat of more border closures looming.
Source: newscomauHQ - 🏆 9. / 77 Read more »

Rush to test suspected NSW patient zeroA returned traveller from Los Angeles is the suspected patient zero of Sydney's northern beaches cluster – but how the coronavirus might have spread from her to the community is still a mystery.
Source: newscomauHQ - 🏆 9. / 77 Read more »

NSW cannot afford to rush budget repairEditorial | The state's economy has improved on many measures since the budget, yet it remains fragile
Source: smh - 🏆 6. / 80 Read more »

Live: NSW Now: NSW police strikeforce Raptor bolstered, fears of sharp rise in e-cigarette useMORNING BRIEFING: The police strikeforce known for busting bikies is boosted to tackle escalating gang wars in south-west Sydney and health groups fear e-cigarettes are encouraging more young people to take up smoking and get hooked. Me: seems like an overreaction. *Clicks link* Oh, two different stories.
Source: abcnews - 🏆 5. / 83 Read more »

Live: NSW Now: NSW Premier to get COVID vaccine today, man in critical condition after shootingMORNING BRIEFING: NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian will get the COVID-19 jab as the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine rollout begins across the state, and a man is in a critical condition at Newcastle's John Hunter Hospital after he was shot in the stomach outside his home. Hope that man recovers from his ‘COVID’ Lol She will have a mystery illness within 2 weeks just like Mr Hunt and Mr Andrews Please ask Gladys why she is using the vaccination to try to raise her profile yet her government isn't reporting vaccination numbers.
Source: abcnews - 🏆 5. / 83 Read more »

Live: NSW Now: NSW urges action from Melbourne visitors as COVID-19 cases growMORNING BRIEFING: Anyone who has been in Melbourne since the end of January is put on high alert by NSW Health as a new exposure site at Melbourne Airport puts authorities on edge. GladysB please get on top of this. If it spreads in NSW, your friend AnnastaciaMP will shut the border again! So did tassie and south Australia
Source: abcnews - 🏆 5. / 83 Read more »