Inside Waste’s request under the Freedom of Information Act 1989 to obtain a copy of the report on Sydney’s landfill capacity and demand, prepared for the NSW Government by Wright Corporate Strategy in 2008, has been formally denied. The state’s reasoning for why there is a “compelling argument for the weight of public interest being against disclosure” makes for interesting reading.

Inside Waste editor Garth Lamb was advised the report “is with the Minister for Planning with recommendations from the department including that it be submitted to Cabinet for consideration”.

“It is a report which may have a significant part to play in NSW waste policy for years to come, and the hope of the department is that it will be published as soon as possible. That, however, will not happen unless it is authorised by the Minister for Planning and… Cabinet.”

“Disclosure of the report by this department prior to its consideration by the Minister and Cabinet would undoubtedly disrupt the Government’s decision making process.”

The response goes on to outline the report was written in the context of a duopoly in Class 1 landfill disposal, with “WSN and Veolia in direct and robust competition,” and suggest for the report “to be disclosed at this point may allow one side on the competitive field to have access to the report before the other.

“Disclosing the report now would be for the Department to take an action knowing it may advantage one side over the other in the market. This would place the market’s and public’s perception of the Department as objective and neutral at serious risk. It may well also skew the marketplace.”

“[This] would therefore have a substantial adverse effect on the Department’s effective performance of its policy-making functions.”

In a somewhat confusing dot point, Inside Waste was informed the planning department is “following a process for the development of waste disposal policy which is open and transparent,” but disclosure of the report would “detract rather than add to that process”.

“Ministers of the Crown, and Cabinet itself, should be free to conduct their business without the public effectively ‘looking over their shoulder’ at every stage of the deliberations and speculation about what might be done and why.”

“Premature release to the public of tentative and partially considered policy matters may encourage ill informed speculation about the content of a policy not yet finalised and approved.”

Meanwhile, the NSW Government today moved ahead with the sales process surrounding WSN (see here). The value of its Sydney landfill assets will be the key determinant of the company’s pricetag, with the Wright report on capacity and demand presumably an extremely useful document for anyone seeking to value the company.

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