Village Voice News - Community - Contracts make Victoria Road consultation a 'farce'

Community activists have attacked the State Government's lack of public consultation on the Victoria Road plans, following revelations that three contracts estimated at $136 million dollars have already been signed for the proposed Iron Cove Bridge duplication.

According to RTA records, the contracts between the authority and three companies - Baulderstone Hornibrook, Hyder Consulting and Manidis Roberts - allow for the development, design, consultation and construction of the Victoria Road and new Iron Cove Bridge project.

These 140-week contracts were signed on October 5 last year, two months before community consultation began on the project.

The move has angered resident group Victoria Road Community Committee (VRCC), which opposes the RTA proposal.

"If a contract has been signed it makes the community consultation process entered into by the RTA a farce," Alex Elliot, spokesman for VRCC said.

The contracts signed by the RTA and the three companies, which specialise in communications, development and construction, make up an alliance agreement, as they all work together in partnership.

Mr Elliot said the public consultation process had gone against the principles of an alliance agreement.

"An alliance contract should be one in which all stakeholders [including the public] are consulted and the best solution is arrived at. This did not happened in the Victoria Road project," he said.

"The RTA told everyone that you are having a bridge, either you have it on the east or the west side. Where is the community input?"

Mr Elliot said an alliance contract could also result in a budget blow out, as the agreements have no fixed price.

But Alain Mignot, executive director of the Alliancing Association of Australia, a professional organisation that promotes partnerships or alliance contracts, said if costs did balloon, all parties would be held responsible.

"Under an alliance contract all parties share the risk and share the reward. So, they all want to meet the deadline in terms of time and budget," Mr Mignot said.

He said if the involved parties exceeded expectations and managed the project below budget then they would receive monetary rewards.

A spokeswoman for the RTA said the Village Voice could not see copies of the alliance contracts, as they were commercial in confidence.

Although the contracts had been signed, she said it did not commit the RTA to constructing the bridge.

"The contractors will get paid for any costs incurred, but there is no compensation for work not going ahead," she said.