Opposition Says Date Of Cross City Tunnel Signing Irrelevant

Claims by the operator of Sydney's Cross City Motorway that it had not sighted cabinet documents in relation to the tunnel contract were "puzzling", the NSW opposition said today.

Allegations that secret cabinet documents relating to Sydney's Cross City Tunnel project were leaked to the road's consortium were this week referred to the NSW corruption watchdog, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).

The state opposition wants the ICAC to investigate a letter written in December 2003, by the then roads minister Carl Scully to former planning minister Craig Knowles, in which he said cabinet documents "have been sighted by members of the CrossCity Motorway consortium".

The documents are reported to have outlined the NSW government's negotiating position for the toll road before the contract was signed, exposing taxpayers to a further $12 million cost blowout.

CrossCity Motorway Pty Ltd issued a statement late on Friday saying it had signed the contract for construction and operation of the Cross City Tunnel in December 2002 - a year before Mr Scully's letter to Mr Knowles revealing the leak.

It also said the company "has not sighted the cabinet documents referred to in today's media reports".

"Reports suggesting the contract was signed after this date (December 2002) are not correct," the statement company said. "At all times, CrossCity Motorway has complied with all valid and relevant orders from the RTA (Roads and Traffic Authority).

Opposition roads spokesman Andrew Stoner said today the date of the contract signing was irrelevant.

He said the matter referred to in Mr Scully's letter was an amendment to the contract, which was sought by the Roads and Traffic Authority on behalf of the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority.

"The RTA saw the need to revisit (the contract) - it may have been that the revisiting had significant implications for residents and motorists," Mr Stone said.

"Whether it did have implications or not is irrelevant. "The documents found their way to the CrossCity Motorway. "I find their denials a little puzzling."

A spokesman for CrossCity Motorway said he did not know when the cabinet meeting to discuss the relocation of ventilation stacks, took place.

The spokesman said today the company had merely wanted to correct factual errors in the media's reporting of the matter and to put its case that it had never sighted the cabinet documents.

Mr Scully today declined to comment on the company's statement.

The December 2003 letter from Mr Scully to Mr Knowles was tabled in the NSW parliament in the afternoon of Melbourne Cup day, as part of 30,000 pages of Cross City Tunnel documents.

It was unearthed the next day as staff from opposition roads spokesman Andrew Stoner's office pored through the hefty paperwork.

Mr Iemma said Mr Scully had told him he had informed the director-general of the Premier's Department, Dr Col Gellatly, of his concerns at the time.

But Mr Iemma would not say whether Dr Gellatly had told the then premier Bob Carr about the issue.

He said Dr Gellatly had examined the concerns raised by Mr Scully, but found they had no credence and decided not to forward the material on.

Mr Carr has said he was unaware of the December 2003 letter. He did not know why the allegation was not referred to the ICAC at the time Mr Scully wrote the letter.