Cable car ‘leaks’ claims

THE Hobart City Council has rejected allegations from cable-car proponent Adrian Bold that it leaked confidential information about the project.

On the Tasmanian Talks radio show yesterday, which discussed exclusive Mercury polling on the issue, Mr Bold — chief executive of the Mount Wellington Cable Car Company — claimed information provided by the company to the council in 2014 was leaked to the media and his company subsequently stopped negotiations with the council.

Mr Bold said Hobart general manager Nick Heath had confirmed the information was leaked — something quickly denied by Mr Heath.

“The council in 2014, and one particular alderman, essentially started leaking information that we gave the council in strictest confidence,” Mr Bold said.

“They haven’t admitted it in public, but all the meetings we’ve had with the general manager since has confirmed that they have leaked confidential information.”

In July 2014, a document from the latest cable car pro- posal revealed one of the project’s main supporting towers would stand 75 metres high.

Then-lord mayor Damon Thomas requested an investigation into the leaking of the document, with the internal review eventually revealing no wrongdoing on the part of the council.

The council yesterday reiterated the findings of that investigation.

Mr Heath denied Mr Bold’s claim that he had confirmed that the council leaked the information.

“I haven’t had any meaningful discussions with Mr Bold since mid-2014,” Mr Heath said. “I can’t recall at all making those concessions.”

Mr Bold also said some Hobart aldermen had been “antagonistic” towards the project.

He said the Mount Wellington Cable Car Company was targeting an opening date of April 2020, with construction beginning by the end of next year.

He also said he was working on another cable car interstate but couldn’t reveal the details yet. “There’s another cable car in Australia that we are working on that will probably get built before this one,” he said.