A note on method
- verified — confirmed by a primary/official source or several reputable ones.
- claim / approx — a government or company figure, a rounded number, or one that varies by source.
- contested — disputed, projection-based, or an interpretation rather than a settled fact.
Several load-bearing figures are projections to 2060 (e.g. Sydney's toll bill) or company investor-material figures (e.g. per-road toll-escalation floors) rather than raw contract deeds, which remain commercial-in-confidence. We flag these on the page and again here. Treat every number as a starting point for your own check.
Toll roads
- Transurban — Sydney roads & concession dates: transurban.com/roads-and-projects/sydney; corporate/investor overview (toll escalation, ~90% auto-escalating revenue): Transurban overview (PDF).
- NSW Government — Sydney toll bill modelling ($123bn to 2060; WestConnex ~$64bn) & the $60 weekly toll cap (13 Nov 2023): nsw.gov.au/media-releases/sydney-toll-bill.
- Michael West Media — Transurban toll escalation analysis: michaelwest.com.au.
- Investment Magazine — AustralianSuper-led consortium wins 20.5% of WestConnex ($9.3bn, 51%, 2018): investmentmagazine.com.au; Transurban — WestConnex acquisition.
Your own money (superannuation)
- ATO — Super Guarantee rises to 12% from 1 July 2025: ato.gov.au.
- IFM Investors (owned by ~16 industry super funds; airports, NSW Ports, Ausgrid, Transurban stake): ifminvestors.com.
- The Conversation — super funds & electricity infrastructure (Ausgrid): theconversation.com.
Socialised losses (failed toll roads)
- Cross City Tunnel (receivership Dec 2006): AARoads Wiki.
- Lane Cove Tunnel (receivership 2010; Transurban ~$630m): AARoads Wiki.
- Clem7 / RiverCity Motorway (administration Feb 2011; AECOM forecast & ~$280m settlement): Wikipedia; Business News Australia.
- AirportLink M7 / BrisConnections (administration 2013; Transurban acquisition; Arup settlement): SBS News; New Civil Engineer.
Power bills (electricity networks)
- NSW Government — TransGrid 99-year lease, $10.258bn (2015): nsw.gov.au.
- Australian Parliament (Senate Economics Committee) — Ausgrid 50.4% to IFM/AustralianSuper (~$16.2bn, 2016): aph.gov.au.
- RenewEconomy — AER rejects network "gold-plating" (2015 determination, ~50% over): reneweconomy.com.au.
- The Conversation — ending electricity-network gold-plating (RAB, regulated return): theconversation.com. RAB write-down argument: Grattan Institute.
The sell-off (ports, registries, airports)
- Future Fund — Port of Melbourne 50-year lease, ~$9.7bn, Lonsdale Consortium (Future Fund, QIC, GIP, OMERS): futurefund.gov.au. (IFM was in the losing bid — it does not own Port of Melbourne.)
- NSW Land Registry Services — 35-year concession, ~$2.6bn (2017), Hastings + First State Super led: governmentnews.com.au.
- Victoria land titles registry — ~$2.86bn (2018): greenstreetnews.com.
Sick PPPs (hospitals)
- Northern Beaches Hospital — Healthscope receivership 2025 (>$1.6bn): Manly Observer; NSW deal & return to public ownership, PPP-prohibition bill: The Urban Developer.
- New Royal Adelaide Hospital — PPP disputes / ~$640m overruns: IJGlobal.
- Fiona Stanley Hospital — Serco services returned to public (2020): WA Government media statement.
- Earlier hospital PPPs (La Trobe Regional, Port Macquarie Base) returned to public: Infrastructure Partnerships Australia PPP submission.
The inflation machine
- Toll escalation: see Toll roads (Transurban "greater of CPI or ~4%").
- Network charges as ~40–45% of a NSW bill; regulated CPI-indexed RAB: see Power bills.
- PPP availability-payment indexation and the cost-of-capital gap: see How the deal works. This page is largely analysis built on those cited facts — arguments are labelled as such on the page.
Who cashes in
- Macquarie / the "Millionaires' Factory" and the listed-infrastructure-fund model: John Quiggin; SourceWatch.
- Revolving door — Mark Birrell (ex-Victorian minister) later joined the Transurban board: Social Justice Australia. (A lawful career move — noted as a structural-conflict example, not an allegation of wrongdoing.)
- Cooling-off / lobbying rules: The Conversation.
The secrecy
- WestConnex — commercial-in-confidence toll compensation terms; NSW Auditor-General 2014 "scathing" business-case review & Infrastructure NSW conflict of interest: WestConnex Action Group; New Matilda.
- "Beyond commercial in confidence" (Victorian power privatisation accounting): ResearchGate.
The world (UK PFI & Carillion)
- UK National Audit Office (Jan 2018) — ~£200bn future PFI liabilities; schools ~40% / some hospitals ~70% costlier as illustrative comparators: New Statesman on the NAO report; The Conversation.
- Carillion collapse (liquidation 15 Jan 2018): NAO investigation (PDF).
Corrections & caveats
This is public-record analysis and opinion — not legal or financial advice. Figures were compiled in 2026 and some (leases, board memberships, ownership stakes) change over time; verify against the primary source before relying on any of them. Naming a fund, firm or person as a beneficiary of a policy is not an allegation of wrongdoing. Found a mistake, or have a primary source that sharpens or corrects a claim? whistle@theradicalparty.com — corrections are published, not buried.