The state government has held confidential talks with commercial operators and organisations that have Christian mission statements, as part of a controversial outsourcing proposal for Sport and Recreation Centres used for thousands of school camps every year.
Leaked documents show government-appointed consultants have held "market sounding" discussions with eight organisations, including NGOs, the multinational PGL group and organisations linked to the Christian Community Churches of Australia and the Crusader Union of Australia.
![The government has previously confirmed it is considering changing the operators for eight of the 11 camps across the state.](/web/20161023055525im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/7/3/f/d/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gs717m.png/1476962328130.jpg)
Labor has questioned the suitability of Christian groups to deliver services at the camps, which are used by 70,000 students each year, many from public schools.
The Crusader Union's website says it has "proclaimed the gospel to school students since 1930". The group did not return a request for comment by deadline.
Opposition Sports spokeswoman Lynda Voltz said the government had resisted requests to release the documents under freedom of information laws.
"It is not surprising that the Baird government has kept this report secret," Ms Voltz said. "It is hard to argue [these] are suitable organisations to run camps delivered to NSW public schools."
But the state government said the discussions were no indication the organisations had been deemed suitable to deliver services at the camp. The government said it was only seeking initial market information on how to improve the camps.
"Market testing is under way to investigate how services at Sport and Recreation centres can be improved for school, sporting and community groups," said Sports Minister Stuart Ayres. "Sport and Recreation centres are available to all community members in NSW and will continue to be so."
The government has previously confirmed it is considering changing the operators for eight of the 11 camps across the state.
But Mr Ayres ruled out selling the camps and said investigations would be complete by year's end, after which time the government would consult camp users.
Another organisation to have signed a non-disclosure agreement before entering talks with the government, Lutanda, aims to "introduce the Jesus of the Bible".
But a spokesman said the organisation ran a mix of camps, including those where schools used the organisation's facilities but ran their own programs.
Under a leasing plan prepared by the consultants, the government would hand over control for more than half of the camps' operations.
But the plans would have the state government jointly develop a camp's programs with the government; any provider would have sole responsibility for delivering programs.
Ms Voltz also queried whether the state government had approached organisations with large volunteer networks to keep down labour costs, which account for nearly two-thirds of the camps' costs.
The camps now run at a net cost of about $2.6 million a year. The consultants' report finds attendance is uneven and utilisation of the camps averages 50 per cent.
Ms Voltz said that the camps' net loss represented only about $15 for each student using the camps.