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Request for audit
Western Sydney Airport offsets
Response provided
Responded: Monday 7 June 2021
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The Auditor-General responded on 7 June 2021 to correspondence from Senator Sarah Hanson-Young dated 10 May 2021, requesting that the Auditor-General conduct an investigation to examine the federal government’s spending on offsets for the Western Sydney Airport.
Auditor-General's response
7 June 2021
Senator Sarah Hanson-Young
Senator for South Australia
By email: senator.hanson-young@aph.gov.au
Dear Senator Hanson-Young
I am writing in response to your letter of 10 May 2021 requesting that the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) conduct an investigation to examine the federal government's spending on offsets for the Western Sydney Airport.
As you are aware, Auditor-General Report No.47 of 2019–20, Referrals, Assessments and Approvals of Controlled Actions under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 considered environmental offset plans in the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment's administration of referrals, assessments and approvals under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
I note that in this audit, as suggested in your letter, the ANAO did not make any findings of political interference. The ANAO is not a corruption investigation body and does not investigate matters of alleged corruption or fraud. Should you be concerned about such activity, these concerns may be more appropriately raised with investigatory bodies such as the Independent Commission Against Corruption or the Australian Federal Police.
Given my recent consideration of environmental offsets in the above audit, I do not propose to conduct an audit in relation to the federal government's spending on offsets for the Western Sydney Airport. However, I will consider including an audit of the Commonwealth's purchase of environmental offsets more broadly in the context of developing the ANAO's 2021-22 Annual Audit Work Program (work program). The work program is designed to inform the Parliament, the public and government entities of planned audit coverage to commence in 2021-22 and will be published on the ANAO website in early July 2021.
To receive updates of the work program, please subscribe to the ANAO website, https://www.anao.gov.au/work-program/draft.
Yours sincerely
Grant Hehir
Correspondence from Senator Sarah Hanson-Young
Transcript of letter from Senator Sarah Hanson-Young
10 May 2021
Mr Grant Hehir
Auditor-General
Australian National Audit Office
GPO Box 707
CANBERRA ACT 2601
Dear Mr Hehir
Western Sydney Airport offsets
I write to request an audit of the federal government’s spending on offsets for the Western Sydney Airport, after revelations consortiums including advisors to the NSW government made millions from the development. An investigation by The Guardian revealed that over a quarter of all offsets sold in the scheme were collected by the consortiums.
On Friday, The Guardian reported that the NSW Transport Department has referred the matter to the NSW ICAC. About $100m of the relevant offsets were purchased by the state and federal governments for major projects, including $37.5m by the federal government for the new Sydney airport.
I refer you to the reporting of this matter for extensive detail:
I note your investigation last year into another deal relating to the Western Sydney Airport where the Department of Infrastructure’s 2018–19 financial statements valued the Leppington Triangle land at a tenth of the price it had paid eleven months earlier. I also note your report into Controlled Actions under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, wherein you detail numerous failings including conflict of interest, improper process, decisions made against Department advice and political interference.
I hope you will agree this matter is worthy of examination by your office. I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely
Senator Sarah Hanson-Young
Australian Greens Spokesperson for the Environment