His successor, Morris Iemma, said yesterday that Premier’s Department director-general Col Gellatly found in 2003 no grounds for referring the leak to the Independent Commission Against Corruption. The leak was raised in a letter from then roads minister Carl Scully to then planning minister Craig Knowles on December 3, 2003. The letter was among 30,000 pages of documents tabled in parliament by the Government on Melbourne Cup day.

In a memo written yesterday, Dr Gellatly said his recollection was that in early December 2003 he became aware of concerns by theRoads and Traffic Authority and Mr Scully that some material to be considered by cabinet may have been made available to the Cross City Motorway Consortium.

FORMER NSW premier Bob Carr’s most senior bureaucrat decided two years ago the leaking of cabinet documents to the Cross City Tunnel consortium did not need to be investigated by the state’s corruption watchdog.

Mr Carr maintained yesterday that he was not aware of the leak, which happened before the lucrative contract was signed and that exposed taxpayers to a $12million blowout on the tunnel project.

“They were aware of their legal obligations; the ICAC Act makes it an obligation on a public official on hearing a credible allegation of corruption to see that it goes to ICAC,” Mr Carr said.

His successor, Morris Iemma, said yesterday that Premier’s Department director-general Col Gellatly found in 2003 no grounds for referring the leak to the Independent Commission Against Corruption. The leak was raised in a letter from then roads minister Carl Scully to then planning minister Craig Knowles on December 3, 2003. The letter was among 30,000 pages of documents tabled in parliament by the Government on Melbourne Cup day.

The leaked document set out the Government’s negotiating position on the cost of relocating ventilation stacks, giving the Cross City Motorway Consortium a tactical advantage in its negotiations with the Government over costs.

Speaking from Hobart where he is attending an energy ministers’ conference, Mr Scully said that “given the material that was bought to my attention and the requirement I made for it to be investigated by no less than the head of the Premier’s Department, it was appropriate conduct by me”.

In a memo written yesterday, Dr Gellatly said his recollection was that in early December 2003 he became aware of concerns by theRoads and Traffic Authority and Mr Scully that some material to be considered by cabinet may have been made available to the Cross City Motorway Consortium.

He in investigated but “as I had no grounds to give any credence to the allegations, I had no reason to refer the matter to ICAC. At thetime, the RTA’s allegations appeared to be based on nothing more than hearsay and an internal dispute between agencies.”

Mr Iemma said his Government would co-operate with an investigation after the leak was referred to ICAC yesterday by Nationals leader Andrew Stoner.