‘Accounting sham’: transport body set up to improve NSW’s budget bottom line could need $4.1bn injection

Auditor general has signed off on NSW’s finances but warns predictions outlined by NSW Treasury remain highly dependent on revenue which may not eventuate. Photograph: Loren Elliott/Reuters

The New South Wales government could be forced to spend another $4.1bn over the next decade to address “significant uncertainties” surrounding a controversial $40bn rail corporation it set up to inflate the state’s budget bottom line.

The auditor general, Margaret Crawford, has given the long-awaited signoff on the state’s finances after a three-month delay caused by concerns surrounding the establishment of the Transport Asset Holding Entity, or Tahe, which holds $40bn in NSW rail assets.