Testimony at a fiery budget estimates hearing has revealed a communications breakdown between NSW transport bureaucrats and the Transport Minister in the lead-up to last Monday’s train shutdown that left scores of Sydneysiders stranded at stations.
Transport secretary Rob Sharp told the hearing on Friday morning that there was a protocol in place that said he wasn’t allowed to call Minister David Elliott directly.
Mr Elliott had been in the job for 63 days at the time and had never met Mr Sharp in person.
The minister was asleep when bureaucrats made the decision to shut down Sydney trains and only found out through social media at 4am on the Monday, he told the hearing.
The standstill caused widespread confusion among commuters and was estimated by the government to have cost at least $33m.
Mr Elliott told the hearing that the outcome wouldn’t have been any different even if he was aware of the plan to shut down the network.
“The decision … to actually go ahead with the shutdown was made on the back of a risk assessment,” Mr Elliott said.
“If the safety assessment had been ignored … and if indeed I had overruled anybody and there had been some sort of an accident or some sort of tragedy on the railway network … well, then I think I would be before a coroner’s court, not before you.”
The Rail, Tram and Bus Union has previously claimed that trains could have run safely despite plans for limited industrial action.
The union is in talks with the government over a new enterprise agreement and has made demands about pay, hygiene and a commitment no rail or bus lines will be lost due to future privatisation of services.
Friday’s hearing got heated at times with opposition MPs and the minister shouting over each other.
Mr Elliott at one point threatened to not answer any questions from Labor MP Daniel Mookhey other than on notice after being repeatedly interrupted.
Opposition MPs tendered text messages to the committee that showed some of the internal discussions that went on before the shutdown.
Mr Elliott was shown text messages that revealed his chief of staff had warned his office of a “massive disruption” on the night before the shutdown.
“Not good news – conciliation no result tonight massive disruption expected in morning,” the text read.
Mr Sharp told the hearing that his deputy Megan Bourke-O‘Neil had advised the minister’s chief of staff that “the network would be shutting down” before 11.30pm that night.
But Mr Elliott maintained he wasn’t aware the system would be shutting down entirely and said he only knew there would be a “widespread disruption”.
“Well, I dispute it, don‘t I?” he Elliott said.
Mr Elliott pointed to a text message that was sent by his chief of staff to the Premier‘s office at 11.43pm that didn’t mention a shutdown.
“It just says … that there would be significant disruptions,” Mr Ellxjmtzywiott said.
“So quite clearly, the chief of staff hadn't been told at that point that there would be a shutdown.”
Labor’s transport spokeswoman Jo Haylen told reporters afterwards that Mr Elliott’s version of events was “absolutely inconceivable”.
“He would have us believe that he knew nothing about the shutdown, went to bed and then read about it on Facebook,” she said.
