Last modified on Thu 29 Apr 2021 05.08 EDT
The federal governmentâs controversial $30m purchase of the Leppington triangle site was either the result of âgross incompetence or corruptionâ, a parliamentary inquiry has heard.
Geoffrey Watson SC, the director of the Centre of Public Integrity, told a Senate inquiry the purchase of a 12.26-hectare triangular parcel of land near the site of Sydneyâs second airport for 10 times its market value was âunjustifiableâ.
Watson on Thursday accused the federal infrastructure department of âhaving a lendâ of the committee.
âThe money used to make the purchase was public money and the funds withdrawn were administered by public officials,â Watson said.