THE state government has been ordered by an industry watchdog to release previously redacted information regarding Bendigo's "Galkangu" GovHub project.
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The government has so far declined to answer whether it will fight the ruling that would force it to reveal the redacted details, following a state opposition push for details to be revealed of an April 2021 ministerial briefing paper it says proves a 60 per cent cost blowout in the major Lyttleton Terrace build.
It maintains the government mismanaged a $16 million component of the project centred on building works.
Unredacted sections of the document - which the opposition obtained after a freedom of information request - shows bureaucrats sought an extra $9 million.
The opposition has now seized on an Office Victorian Information Commissioner ruling demanding redactions be lifted on the briefing paper.
The government had until Wednesday to decide whether it would appeal that ruling.
It has declined to answer specific questions from the Bendigo Advertiser about any appeal or when redacted sections might be made public.
It has pointed to publicly available figures for a wider sum of $120.8 million which covers the build, land purchase and other costs to say it is on budget.
The opposition expects to learn whether it will get the unredacted version of the document in coming days. Any appeal will likely be heard at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
The government originally redacted sections of the briefing paper under a legal clause allowing it to withhold certain commercial details of third parties or agencies.
That has "not satisfied" the Victorian Information Commissioner's office, it said in a recent ruling.
Deputy public access commissioner Joanne Kummrow said the information does not meet requirements to be redacted under "trade or commerce" rules.
It was a blow to the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions, which had argued the project "involves the departmental purchase of land and the contracting of various providers to develop the GovHub on the purchased site", according to a document sighted by the Bendigo Advertiser.
The same document shows it told OVIC "the exempt information consists of financial information and costs relevant to both the department and the Bendigo City Council.
OVIC acknowledged concerns about the procurement of services from commercial entities but Ms Kummrow said the government had entered a contract on behalf of the state and the community.