http://www.smh.com.au/business/court-orders-government-to-hand-over-tcard-documents-20100608-xtmg.html
THE NSW government has been ordered by the NSW Supreme Court to produce copies of ministerial briefing papers and minutes of internal meetings relating to the failed Tcard transport smartcard.
The company behind the Tcard, ERG Ltd, yesterday won access to all relevant documents except those considered by the cabinet.
The agency overseeing the contract, the Public Transport Ticketing Corporation, unsuccessfully argued that many of its documents should remain confidential because they related to ''matters of state''.
Advertisement: Story continues belowThe corporation is suing ERG for $77 million and ERG has counterclaimed with a suit seeking $215 million over the termination of the Tcard contract in 2008.
Justice Clifford Einstein said yesterday many of the documents related to ''briefings to the [Transport] Minister or meetings referred to in the PTTC's own evidence in support of its claim''.
There was a public interest in ''ensuring that parties that enter into contracts with government which have a commercial nature know that in future litigation the government will not be permitted to hold back documents relevant to the litigation on an assertion of public interest immunity and that the party will have the dispute with the government (particularly a claim for damages brought by the government) resolved by the court with the knowledge of all relevant information and documents'', Justice Einstein said.
The case is due for trial next year.
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