The mediator between the owners of Melbourne Airport and the Victorian government in a long-running dispute over a proposed railway station at Tullamarine has also been doing consulting work for the state-run Suburban Rail Loop Authority, prompting questions about a potential conflict of interest.
Both the federal and state governments insist there is no conflict of interest in Neil Scales, a former director-general of Queensland’s transport department, doing consulting work for a different Victorian government agency while also mediating between the parties.
Scales, who was appointed in April to mediate the fight over the location of the future station at Tullamarine, submitted his final report to federal Infrastructure and Transport Minister Catherine King last Thursday.
The federal government was aware of Scales’ work for the Victorian government and did not seek any changes to the mediator role, although it has since described him as a “negotiator” after questions were first raised in Senate estimates hearings.
The airport wants the train station built underground, while the state insists it must be above ground to manage costs. The protracted saga has contributed to the rail line being delayed by up to four years.
Since December, Scales has also been providing advice to the Suburban Rail Loop Authority’s chief executive, board and executive team as it oversees building SRL East from Cheltenham to Box Hill, the first stage of the project.
The authority ultimately reports to the state of Victoria, but the state and the federal government say there is no conflict with Scales’ role because the airport project is managed by a separate entity, the Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority.
In 2022, then-premier Daniel Andrews announced the Tullamarine project, known as Melbourne Airport Rail, would be renamed Suburban Rail Loop – Airport, highlighting its role in the broader rail loop project. It is still named this way in budget papers.
The Age
