DETAILS of a secret deal between Origin Energy and the NSW Office of Sport following the abrupt closure of Myuna Bay Sport and Recreation Centre remain under wraps, after a formal request from the Newcastle Herald for the deed of agreement was denied in full.
In its decision, the Office of Sport denied the application because of an "overriding public interest against disclosure" arguing the document contains commercial-in-confidence information that if disclosed, "would place Origin Energy at a substantial commercial disadvantage".
It has left Lake Macquarie mayor Kay Fraser with "more questions than answers" after the council's own request to see the deed was refused in January.
"Is it the amount of money that exchanged hands? Is it the future use of that site? Is it that an agreement was struck to have it demolished for other reasons that we're unaware of?" she said.
"What is so commercial-in-confidence about this deed that we can't have access to it? Because I'm assuming it has the value, the amount of money that exchanged hands, which would mean someone might be embarrassed, I don't know.
"There's something in that deed that we're not aware of and they're hell bent on not giving us information or the community."
A look at the Office of Sport's financial statement for the period 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022 revealed that it received 'other revenue' of $48.1 million, "mainly due to a one-off payment received in relation to the closure of Myuna Bay Sport and Recreation Centre and development of a new centre at Lake Macquarie".
The former school camp was shutdown almost overnight in 2019, as the result of concerns about the risks the nearby Eraring Power Station's coal ash dam posed in the event of a major earthquake.
Five years on there are no concrete plans for a replacement, despite the Hunter and Central Coast Regional Planning Panel approving its demolition two weeks ago.
A NSW Office of Sport spokesman told the Herald it found the disclosure of the deed of agreement "would reveal a commercial-in-confidence government contract".
"After considering the application, the Office of Sport determined to refuse it due to an overriding public interest against disclosure," he said.
Origin Energy declined to comment, but as part of the reasons given for denying the Herald's application, the Office of Sport confirmed a third party objected to the disclosure of the information.
In 2019, the Herald reported that under a "new deal" the Office of Sport would be given a 99-year lease on a waterfront site in Lake Macquarie owned by Origin Energy for a new centre.
Key parts of the agreement were reported to include urgent repairs to the ash dam wall at Eraring and that the existing site would be retained in government hands, rehabilitated and revegetated at Origin's cost and 'protected from any sort of future development'.
All current staff at Myuna Bay would be offered redundancy or redeployment to other sport and rec centres, Origin would compensate the Myuna Bay Water Ski Club for its tournament losses and access to the lagoon or a new site would be the subject of further negotiations.
Origin also reportedly agreed to compensate Morisset Rotary Club for the loss of its storage shed on the site, and for costs incurred since the closure.
Lake Macquarie MP Greg Piper said he didn't think "there would be all that much in it" but said he thought the reason the deed wouldn't be released would be due to commercial in confidence issues.
"I'd say it's not that uncommon, for a company that's put up over $40m," he said.
"Would there be any damage in releasing it? I suspect not."
Mr Piper said he's "tired of the conspiracies" surrounding the closure of Myuna Bay Sport and Recreation Centre and said even though it was "badly managed" he felt the issue of the old site should be "put to bed".
"I'm satisfied with that and the assurances we have that the land is not being sold, it's not going to developers, it's just going to be vested in public hands probably as Crown Land because National Parks have said it doesn't fit what they want," he said.
"Maybe it will be returned to active public use through transferred to council or under control of council if they want it in the future."
Mr Piper said he wished he could shed light on plans for a new centre on land formerly part of Morisset Hospital, which he has previously said is tied up in transfer negotiations between government departments.
"I wish I could speak to it more but every time I open my mouth on something and I say what I believe is happening it changes or we don't get the answers in a timely manner, so I'm loath to say anything," he said.
"I'm desperate for the Office of Sport to get us to that stage where we can come out and say, 'This is definitely the site, this is what we're doing and what we've got', because I don't actually know how much money we have got either.
"That's my frustration and I understand the public frustration there as well."
A Lake Macquarie council spokesman confirmed staff are unaware of the details of any commercial arrangements between Origin and the state government.
