An extraordinary rift has been exposed between the NSW Transport Minister David Elliott and his most senior bureaucrat.
Fiery testimony at an explosive parliamentary hearing on Friday revealed the tension in their working relationship.
The committee heard communications between senior public servants and the Minister broke down ahead of Sydney’s chaotic train shutdown.
Transport secretary Rob Sharp told the hearing that there was a protocol in plxjmtzywace that meant he wasn’t allowed to call Mr Elliott directly.
The Minister had been in the job for 63 days and had never met Mr Sharp in person.
Mr Elliott confirmed he had established the protocol “for the initial period of (his) tenure” because he wanted to have all information in writing.
“As a new Minister, you know, we like to have everything, as much as we possibly can in writing, and obviously I had to take advice on anything because we were still getting on top of the brief,” he said.
Mr Sharp claimed he had asked for Mr Elliott’s personal phone number shortly after he became the Transport Minister, but the number was not provided until last month.
However, Liberal MP Scott Farlow produced a text message to the committee that showed that was incorrect.
The message showed Mr Elliott’s chief of staff had provided his phone number to Mr Sharp’s acting chief of staff the day before Christmas.
“I certainly don't recollect that … clearly, three's disconnect in terms of the communication around this,” Mr Sharp responded.
The committee heard Mr Elliott was asleep when bureaucrats made the decision to shut down Sydney trains.
The Minister only found out through social media at 4am on the Monday.
The standstill caused widespread confusion among commuters and was estimated to have cost at least $33 million.
Mr Elliott said even if he was aware of the plan to shut down the network, the outcome would not have been different.
“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 privatisation of services.
Friday’s hearing got heated at times with opposition MPs and the minister shouting over each other.
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 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 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 Elliott 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.
