As Minister for Planning, Delahunty was criticized for the altering of the annual Surveyor-General's Report 2002–03, submitted by the Surveyor-General of Victoria, Keith Clifford Bell. The acting Victorian Ombudsman announced in January 2004 that he would “investigate why the former Surveyor-General's final annual report was substantially altered before being tabled in State Parliament last November” He also announced he would investigate the misuse of the Surveyor-General’s electronic signature by the Department of Sustainability and Environment. The Auditor-General confirmed it would keep a watching brief over the investigations. It was also confirmed that the government ignored the advice of the office of the Victorian Government Solicitor “to not interfere with the report”. Bell, himself had confirmed that the report had been altered. The complaint to the Ombudsman leading to the investigation had come from the then Opposition planning spokesman Ted Baillieu Efforts to alter or block Bell’s reports, 1999-01 and 2000–01, had also occurred under the former Minister Sherryl Garbutt. Garbutt had made claims the reports were inaccurate, but were subsequently tabled without any alteration.