The Public Accounts Committee's chairwoman, Deb Foskey, has asked Auditor-General Tu Pham to audit the project.

Dr Foskey said it was the only way to independently assess the decision-making process behind the site.

She said MLAs had not been able to access the documents that explained how decisions about the project were made.

''We tried everything else. I think that we really need to go back to basics and look at the whole way the Freedom of Information Act is being used in the planning process because we noted that different departments, though they were using the same legislation, had different responses,'' she said.

The Molonglo MLA said the Auditor-General had a greater ability to demand documents.

''Therefore, she's the appropriate person to be conducting this inquiry.''

Dr Foskey said the Stanhope Government had treated the development like a minor project.

''They [the Stanhope Government] have complied with the statutory process, but in this case the statutory processes are not adequate. They're not adequate for a totally new kind of development in the ACT.''

Ms Tu Pham said yesterday that she was considering the request and hoped to respond to the committee in a week.

She said she had received a similar request from a member of the public in May. ''It was not the right time to interfere when the Assembly Commitee was still asking for questions.'' She said the biggest consideration in her decision was whether an audit would be in the interest of the community.

In a letter to the Auditor-General, the committee indicated 15 issues of concern, including the processes used to select the site.

They also questioned the appropriateness of the Chief Minister's involvement in the planning process and the consultation process.

Canberrans opposed to the development say lack of transparency and accountability were a concern.