Nearly half of public servants surveyed at the NSW transport department, which spends almost half the state’s investment budget each year, are reluctant to speak up about “tough issues” despite it being embroiled in its fourth corruption scandal in six years.

An internal survey of Transport for NSW’s 17,500-strong workforce also found 24 per cent of staff believe change is being managed well – a decline of 6 percentage points on the previous poll – and more than three-fifths of workers felt burnt out, down 5 percentage points.

Amid a corruption inquiry into agency officials pocketing kickbacks from road contractors, the latest survey reveals 52 per cent of Transport for NSW staff feel “empowered to speak up about tough issues”. They could range from alleged corruption or malpractice to

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