Rigged contracts the focus of transport kickbacks probe
During an estimated six weeks of public hearings beginning on Monday, an integrity watchdog will probe whether several Transport for NSW employees were favourable or dishonest in awarding tenders to private companies dating back to 2012.
Transport for NSW is responsible for issuing contracts to private companies for new works and maintenance, with companies vying for multimillion-dollar jobs after being placed on a panel.
A NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption investigation led to raids on the head office of Protection Barriers Pty Ltd, one of the state's biggest roadworks companies, in September.
Government records show the business secured significant deals worth more than $110 million from Transport for NSW for road safety work during the past decade.
One state employee told Nine's A Current Affair the company was given preferential access to tenders.
"They (Protection Barriers) should have been doing seven million worth of work a year - in actual fact, they were doing nearly $30 million worth of work a year," Adele Graham told the program.
Luxury cars were seized from the company's headquarters in northern NSW in raids led by the commission before the firm fell into voluntary administration in March.
Company founder Jason Chellew is set to face the inquiry on Monday, followed by his wife Meshel on Wednesday.
The inquiry will also hear from Peco and Saso Jankulovski, directors of Complete Linemarking Services Pty Ltd, later in the week.
The six-week inquiry will be presided over by chief commissioner and former NSW attorney-general John Hatzistergos, with Rob Ranken SC and Grainne Marsden as counsel assisting.
In 2023, the corruption watchdog found two former Transport for NSW employees awarded roads and maritime contracts in exchange for more than $7 million in benefits from mid-2010 to about mid-2019.
Allegations that public servants rigged lucrative government contracts for kickbacks will form the centre of a major corruption inquiry.
During an estimated six weeks of public hearings beginning on Monday, an integrity watchdog will probe whether several Transport for NSW employees were favourable or dishonest in awarding tenders to private companies dating back to 2012.
Transport for NSW is responsible for issuing contracts to private companies for new works and maintenance, with companies vying for multimillion-dollar jobs after being placed on a panel.
A NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption investigation led to raids on the head office of Protection Barriers Pty Ltd, one of the state's biggest roadworks companies, in September.
Government records show the business secured significant deals worth more than $110 million from Transport for NSW for road safety work during the past decade.
One state employee told Nine's A Current Affair the company was given preferential access to tenders.
"They (Protection Barriers) should have been doing seven million worth of work a year - in actual fact, they were doing nearly $30 million worth of work a year," Adele Graham told the program.
Luxury cars were seized from the company's headquarters in northern NSW in raids led by the commission before the firm fell into voluntary administration in March.
Company founder Jason Chellew is set to face the inquiry on Monday, followed by his wife Meshel on Wednesday.
The inquiry will also hear from Peco and Saso Jankulovski, directors of Complete Linemarking Services Pty Ltd, later in the week.
The six-week inquiry will be presided over by chief commissioner and former NSW attorney-general John Hatzistergos, with Rob Ranken SC and Grainne Marsden as counsel assisting.
In 2023, the corruption watchdog found two former Transport for NSW employees awarded roads and maritime contracts in exchange for more than $7 million in benefits from mid-2010 to about mid-2019.
Allegations that public servants rigged lucrative government contracts for kickbacks will form the centre of a major corruption inquiry.
During an estimated six weeks of public hearings beginning on Monday, an integrity watchdog will probe whether several Transport for NSW employees were favourable or dishonest in awarding tenders to private companies dating back to 2012.
Transport for NSW is responsible for issuing contracts to private companies for new works and maintenance, with companies vying for multimillion-dollar jobs after being placed on a panel.
A NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption investigation led to raids on the head office of Protection Barriers Pty Ltd, one of the state's biggest roadworks companies, in September.
Government records show the business secured significant deals worth more than $110 million from Transport for NSW for road safety work during the past decade.
One state employee told Nine's A Current Affair the company was given preferential access to tenders.
"They (Protection Barriers) should have been doing seven million worth of work a year - in actual fact, they were doing nearly $30 million worth of work a year," Adele Graham told the program.
Luxury cars were seized from the company's headquarters in northern NSW in raids led by the commission before the firm fell into voluntary administration in March.
Company founder Jason Chellew is set to face the inquiry on Monday, followed by his wife Meshel on Wednesday.
The inquiry will also hear from Peco and Saso Jankulovski, directors of Complete Linemarking Services Pty Ltd, later in the week.
The six-week inquiry will be presided over by chief commissioner and former NSW attorney-general John Hatzistergos, with Rob Ranken SC and Grainne Marsden as counsel assisting.
In 2023, the corruption watchdog found two former Transport for NSW employees awarded roads and maritime contracts in exchange for more than $7 million in benefits from mid-2010 to about mid-2019.
Allegations that public servants rigged lucrative government contracts for kickbacks will form the centre of a major corruption inquiry.
During an estimated six weeks of public hearings beginning on Monday, an integrity watchdog will probe whether several Transport for NSW employees were favourable or dishonest in awarding tenders to private companies dating back to 2012.
Transport for NSW is responsible for issuing contracts to private companies for new works and maintenance, with companies vying for multimillion-dollar jobs after being placed on a panel.
A NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption investigation led to raids on the head office of Protection Barriers Pty Ltd, one of the state's biggest roadworks companies, in September.
Government records show the business secured significant deals worth more than $110 million from Transport for NSW for road safety work during the past decade.
One state employee told Nine's A Current Affair the company was given preferential access to tenders.
"They (Protection Barriers) should have been doing seven million worth of work a year - in actual fact, they were doing nearly $30 million worth of work a year," Adele Graham told the program.
Luxury cars were seized from the company's headquarters in northern NSW in raids led by the commission before the firm fell into voluntary administration in March.
Company founder Jason Chellew is set to face the inquiry on Monday, followed by his wife Meshel on Wednesday.
The inquiry will also hear from Peco and Saso Jankulovski, directors of Complete Linemarking Services Pty Ltd, later in the week.
The six-week inquiry will be presided over by chief commissioner and former NSW attorney-general John Hatzistergos, with Rob Ranken SC and Grainne Marsden as counsel assisting.
In 2023, the corruption watchdog found two former Transport for NSW employees awarded roads and maritime contracts in exchange for more than $7 million in benefits from mid-2010 to about mid-2019.
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