Hensher:

There is always the risk that the consultant hired to undertake the cost benefit study or the Economic Impact Statement has already been advised by the client what is the expected outcome and they will rationalise with their information to try and satisfy that.

Mack:

Most people would like to see Environmental Impact Studies as fair as possible and to be a genuine evaluation of a project in all its aspects. When it is the proponent that prepares it obviously they're going to downplay or minimise all the problems.

Bathgate:

In the first place its a bit of a cheap shot I think. Really just saying 'Well its biased' doesn't really get you anywhere. You have got to examine an EIS critically, have a look at it, and then relate what is studied to the effectual knowledge in the area and then make statements on the basis of that. In the case of our EIS it was conducted by us, sorry for us, by an independent consultant, who's got their own reputation on the line.

Zines:

The consultant is employed by the proponent to actually assist him in preparing his EIS and the EIS supports a development application. Its a supporting document amongst other documents that go towards the proponent's case for his development being considered favourably.

Smyth:

When the EIS is produced it is exhibited and that's the opportunity for the community and government agencies and councils to review the EIS and make their submissions to the proponent and Department of Environment and Planning or the Department of Planning gets a copy. When that is completed the report goes to the determining authority or the proponent authority and it assesses all of the submissions, that report if there is one, the EIS and then decides whether or not the project will proceed.

Toon:

You will get effective scrutiny when its out in the public arena. In the end it doesn't pay - now I don't think there are many consultants who would deliberately use data that was either known to be inaccurate or known to be obsolete or known to be false.

Smyth:

The Department of Planning, or Environment and Planning as it was then, is responsible for the administration of the Environmental Impact Assessment process, seeing that EIS's are done properly, evaluating EIS's, maintaining standards of EIS production, assessing those and reporting appropriately to government.

Our recommendation was that the project shouldn't proceed in the form it was in at that time until the alternatives had been evaluated and a number of other matters had been addressed.

Neither the Department nor I in particular were very popular about an assessment report that was critical of a project that was being driven by an ambitious and fairly high profile minister.

Laurie Brereton, Minister for Roads:

The DEP, like so many other departments, have put forward a view. That's a view that's contested very strenuously by the Department of Main Roads.