NSW could miss out on Federal Government money for vital projects such as the western metro plan because its funding submission was so inadequate.
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Infrastructure Australia sources said the NSW Government's submission still lacks detail on the benefits and costings for its key projects and the state was at risk of being sidelined from early funding when the first round is announced, probably next month.
"There's a lack of integrated planning in the NSW submission," one senior source said. "It clearly took them by surprise and they are constantly updating the submission - it's changing every day."
The Premier, Nathan Rees, is relying on the federal funding to kick-start his Government after coming under intense criticism for his mini-budget, in which he scrapped the north-west metro plan and then hastily announced a replacement CBD Metro.
Another source said the NSW submission looked like it had been "done on the back of an envelope" and lacked critical detail, such as how a metro system through the CBD would benefit NSW economically.
The source said there was an "unstable situation" in NSW because of internal bickering between "various factions" who were at war over whether Sydney should build a metro
or upgrade its ailing heavy
rail network.
"There is no doubt that NSW will get some [funding] but [the Federal Government] wants to see what bang they will get for their buck. NSW hasn't been able to prioritise or articulate where their problems are," the source said.
It is understood Infrastructure Australia chiefs had to send the NSW submission back three times because it did not adequately identify how the projects would "stack up". It is understood the submissions from Victoria, South Australia and Queensland were much more impressive.
The former premier Morris Iemma had wanted federal funding for a north-west metro but that was dumped by Mr Rees in November and replaced with a CBD metro. A western metro under Parramatta Road remained on the drawing board.
The Transport Minister, David Campbell, yesterday told a business leaders' lunch that the Government remained hopeful that it would be able to expand its CBD metro proposal to the west and north-west of the city.
"Obviously, we're in negotiations with the Commonwealth as part of the Infrastructure Australia process to see that potentially expand from just a CBD metro as well," Mr Campbell said.
Peter Duncan, the deputy director-general of the NSW Department of Premier of Cabinet, denied that the Government's submission was inferior to any of the others provided to Infrastructure Australia.
"We have contacted the Infrastructure Australia office and they advise this is the first they have heard of any such claims and state that they are incorrect," Mr Duncan said.
"The NSW submission is being considered like any of the other state submissions. We will continue to provide Infrastructure Australia with all of the information they require."
