"Terrible look" Transurban. The company is now being described...

"Terrible look" Transurban. The company is now being described as "terrible" by the NSW Transport Minister. According to Peter Khoury of NRMA (see below), seemingly TCL is holding a Government and its people to ransom by a contract noone has seen? The NRMA appear to have been misled that it was contractually entitled to do it. TCL is in complete chaos

Transurban with Lindsay Maxsted of Westpac AML AUSTRAC child prostitution scandal fame as Chair appears to be not taking the int. After the M5 fatality on the Belmore Road offramp, the William Tyrrell coroner's court and the Melbourne West Gate Tunnel Project delay, TCL appears to be going from one scandal to another to yet another, beset by scandal?

The NSW Transport Minister has been accused of backflipping on whether toll prices should be increased as tensions mount between the government and the nation's biggest tollway operator.

Andrew Constance on Friday criticised tolling giant Transurban for going ahead with quarterly price increases on its roads, describing it as a "terrible" look.

NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance says Transurban must put a freeze on toll increases.CREDIT:AAP

"They need to just factor in the incredible pain and suffering and pressure that everybody is under at this period in time and reconsider their decision," he said.

"To be honest, I would have thought that a degree of understanding where the community is at right now should have factored into their decision [in] making this slight increase."

Mr Constance's words appear to differ from those of his department earlier in the week, which said Transurban "have the right to increase prices quarterly", adding that private tolls were "critical" to keeping freight and vehicles moving across the state.

His criticism of Transurban caught the NRMA by surprise.

The WestConnex tollroad is not due to be finished until 2023.CREDIT:CHRISTOPHER PEARCE

NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury said the government's sudden change of tune wasn't good for the community, which needed consistent messaging during the economic downturn.

"The NRMA took [the government] in good faith on Tuesday that the contract was legally binding, and so we are obviously surprised by today's backflip," Mr Khoury said.

"Clarity is king during these times and I don't think it helps the community to have these mixed messages."

The Herald understands Transport for NSW was briefed at least one month before the 2-8¢ April toll increases on four of the city's motorways.

Contractors at work in the NorthConnex toll road tunnel.CREDIT:BROOK MITCHELL

Transurban, which operates some of Sydney's biggest tollways, has recorded an almost 40 per cent drop in traffic volume across its roads worldwide amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company has resisted calls to freeze indexed price increases in recent days, arguing the money is being funnelled into big infrastructure projects such as NorthConnex and the second stage of WestConnex, which it bought from the government.

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But Mr Constance said the ASX-listed company needed to put aside the needs of its financiers and support struggling Australians.

Both Mr Khoury and opposition roads spokesman John Graham were quick to point out that Transurban was adhering to a contract that the NSW government helped design.

"The government created this contract, they're signatories to this contract and I'm not sure that mixing your message in one week is what's in the best interest of the community right now" Mr Khoury said.

"This just further highlights why it's so important that, when these contracts are written up, there needs to be a third party in the room, an independent body, to make sure the public interests are front and centre."

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Mr Graham said that, if the government wanted a freeze on tolls, it should be willing to use the compensation clauses written into its agreement with Transurban.

"The NSW government should stop pointing the finger and act," he said.

But Mr Constance said he didn't want to "trigger hundreds of millions in claims" when the government was focused on spending "every ounce" of taxpayer cash on its response to the coronavirus.

He said his office contacted Transurban after the April 1 price increase, and urged the company to think twice before triggering another rise in July.

"For goodness sake, not now," he said.

Transurban has suspended tolls on a road it owns in Montreal, Canada, and will be compensated by the local government under the terms of its contract.

A Transurban spokesman on Friday said the company was providing a three-month toll credit for people impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. It has also suspended debt collection during the economic crisis.