The stage was set for extraordinary scenes in the NSW upper house next month, as a parliamentary committee considered whether to compel a senior executive to appear before it.
It would require an application to the NSW Supreme Court for the executive to be subpoenaed to appear before the MPs conducting an inquiry into Sydney toll roads.
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The name of this potential fugitive from justice? Sydney Motorway Corporation (SMC) chief executive Dennis Cliche, the bloke in charge of delivering the $16.8 billion WestConnex motorway project.
Two weeks ago, at the last minute, Cliche declined an invitation by the committee to appear before its inquiry, arguing it is a private company and not responsible for setting policy on road tolls.
![The salary of Sydney Motorway Corporation chief executive Dennis Cliche is a closely guarded secret.](/web/20170428192351im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/l/5/u/b/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gvtj2h.png/1493309598800.jpg)
But the move was widely seen as an attempt to duck the likely first question Cliche would be asked: how much do you earn?
The committee has now written to Cliche inviting him to appear at its next hearing and making it clear it is willing to subpoena him.
Cliche has now agreed to appear, on May 22. Of course, whether or not he answers the question about his remuneration remains to be seen.
It's just the latest chapter in the saga of the mystery surrounding Cliche's salary, which has been running since his appointment as CEO of the agency's predecessor, WestConnex Delivery Authority, in 2014 and has since developed into high farce.
The lengths to which the government has gone to avoid making Cliche's salary public are truly astonishing – and their reasons for not doing so remain completely unclear.
Soon after his appointment, then roads minister Duncan Gay was asked when Cliche's remuneration would be put on the record.
He responded that it would appear in the SMC's next financial statement to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (SMC is structured as a government-owned private company).
Yet that hasn't happened. Most recently, the report simply disclosed that the company's senior executives collectively were paid $5.15 million in the 12 months to June 2016.
Labor has tried, so far unsuccessfully, to seek the information under Government Information (Public Access) Act.
Controversially, SMC's corporate structure means it is not subject to applications under the GIPA Act – another government decision that appears designed to avoid proper scrutiny.
So Labor's roads spokeswoman Jodi McKay tried for documents held by Roads and Maritime Services, but was told "no information was found". RMS helpfully advised that such requests should be made directly to SMC.
It's not as if this type of information is closely held by other agencies, either, whether public or private.
During the toll road inquiry, Labor MLC John Graham asked Transurban and RMS representatives to confirm what their chief executives were paid. They were happy to do so, given the salaries are listed in their annual reports.
Why the secrecy surrounding Cliche's salary? One possible reason is the behaviour of the agencies charged with making WestConnex a reality.
As Fairfax Media has repeatedly highlighted, the compulsory acquisition of private homes has been traumatic for many involved, a common complaint being the "bully boy" tactics of the acquiring agency, RMS.
Stories abound of how RMS appears determined to fight ever dollar of compensation payable to homeowners by engaging high priced law firms to fight them in the courts.
Contrast this with the presumably large salary of the man in charge of the project – which in all likelihood exceeds for one year the compensation being offered to many homeowners for their entire residence – and you end up with a pretty bad look.
As part of her first reshuffle, Premier Gladys Berejiklian made Penrith MP Stuart Ayres the Minister for WestConnex.
As a consequence, Ayres has become a shareholding minister in SMC, handing him and his fellow shareholding ministers the power to direct the corporation's board.
He should take the opportunity to end the farce once and for all by directing that it be made public as soon as possible.
Yes, this might risk an outcry over the Cliche's remuneration, but that is unlikely to last for long.
Besides, the government should be happy to justify how much public money it is paying a key executive to deliver one of its most important, and expensive, transport projects.
To resist doing so simply prolongs the question: what have they got to hide?
Sean Nicholls is state political editor.