This small battalion of officers are employed mainly in communications and to work with"stakeholders" – groups and individuals who have a stake in a project. Teams of PR professionals are keeping the public informed about level crossing removals. Credit:Eddie Jim But they are also employed in roles including branding, graphic design and advertising, and are in addition to the 27-strong team of media advisors reporting directly to the Premier, and additional communications staff in the transport department and its agencies. Organisational charts for the four specially established transport authorities removing level crossings, building the Metro Tunnel rail project, and planning two major freeways show at least 115 staff in communications and stakeholder relations. The authority behind the $11 billion Metro Tunnel project has 273 full-time employees.

The organisational chart for its communications team shows 38 staff – despite the project not opening for nine years. At least 10 of these 38 positions are external contractors or people seconded from other agencies. By comparison, the authority has 32 staff in its planning and environment division and 27 in its safety division. The Level Crossing Removal Authority's organisational chart shows at least 75 communications and stakeholder relations officers helping to sell its projects to the community. The authority has 430 full-time staff. The Age sought the charts under freedom of information after a disgruntled former employee said the number of communications officers hired by these authorities was "obscene". Many in each authority's communications divisions work in stakeholder relations – the toughest part of communicating the government's transport plans.

They visit people whose homes are being acquired, or who will have major new infrastructure built next door. While these staff consult with the community, in reality projects change only at the margins as a result of their work. Melbourne University transport lecturer John Stone said the Victorian government's method when choosing big projects was deciding on them confidentially and then telling the community. "So something has been decided and people are then told or persuaded that this is a good idea," Dr Stone said. "Communities are presented with Maggie Thatcher's old line – 'There is no alternative' – and often there is. But under the current system, the community can only be heard if they can create enough political will to be heard."

In 2015, Matt Hammond was among nine Kensington families told their homes would go to make way for the Metro Tunnel. After a lengthy campaign, the Melbourne Metro Rail Authority was convinced the houses didn't need to go. Now, only one will be demolished. "We managed to move the tunnel entrance about 50 metres west," said Mr Hammond, who has little time for the communications staff he dealt with. "Once we were able to engage with engineers, we had respectful conversations about how to mitigate impacts. "It's very difficult to do that with communications people – you have to have face-to-face conversations with people who make the decisions and dig the holes."

The organisational charts released by the government do not include staff wages. One former media officer said a conservative estimate would see wages and on-costs of each communications employee easily topping $100,000, meaning taxpayers are spending at least $10 million a year to be communicated to – and potentially far more. A spokeswoman for Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan defended the expenditure, saying the special transport authorities had been set up to oversee projects worth in excess of $30 billion dollars. They were "projects that will save lives, reduce congestion and benefit people in every corner of Melbourne and across regional Victoria". As a percentage of overall project investment, communication staff salaries at the agencies represent less than 1 per cent across all agencies, she said.

Loading Because many projects involved compulsory acquisitions and major disruption, communications staff often took on the role of one-on-one support to households and businesses. "We make no apologies for getting on with the projects we were elected to deliver, and for ensuring locals know how these projects affect their community, their travel plans and their lives," the spokeswoman said.