ERG won the A$10 million contract last year, but the project has been delayed due to a rival consortium, Cubic, taking legal action against the award. Cubic told the Australian Federal Court yesterday that it questioned the actions of probity auditors from Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.

Cubic has accused the Government of improperly influencing the independent committee that evaluated tenders for an integrated ticketing system for public transport.

If Cubic’s allegations that the contract won by the ERG-led Integrated Transit Solutions because of improper influences are upheld by the courts, ERG could lose the contract. Analysts say the loss of the contract would further dent ERG’s standing in the investment community. ERG’s share price has already declined by 20% since the start of 2002.