Page 107 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 14 February 1990
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pool. The group, chaired by Mr Peter Muir, President of the Tuggeranong Valley Rugby Union and Amateur Sports Club, provided its recommendations at the end of last year. The recommendations were for a 10-metre wading pool, a 20-metre learn-to-swim pool, an 8-lane 50-metre main pool, a roof to cover all the pools - removable in summer - infrastructure, change rooms, kiosk, office - various other things like that - and space for entrepreneurial activities.
Mr Speaker, it should be noted that those recommendations, which came from the very committee which Mr Whalan appointed, did not include a diving pool as now proposed by Mr Whalan. The committee specifically considered, but rejected, a diving pool as it regarded that feature as being too expensive and not justified and totally irresponsible. Ye Mr Whalan is now calling for this particular feature. The committee's preferred option was that a site in the town centre with Government ownership be provided to maintain low entry fees.
There has been recent criticism in the local Tuggeranong Valley press concerning this Government's policy with respect to meeting the needs identified for swimming facilities in the Tuggeranong Valley area and I wonder where those outlandish statements come from. We know where they come from. In particular, a statement by Mr Whalan to the effect that the proposal has been dropped from the construction program for next year is simply incorrect. I think Mr Kaine addressed this matter very succinctly on 19 January when he put out a press release. For the sake of the record, I am going to read this press release. Remember it is dated 19 January. Mr Kaine said:
On 29 November 1989 Mr Whalan was reported to have said "construction should begin no later than next year" but at no stage did he ever publicly commit himself to a commencement date for the Tuggeranong pool.
Never ever -
Nor did he make any financial provision for such a project in Labor's 1989-90 Budget.
And we have proved that by showing you the figures.
Mr Whalan also claims the Alliance Government is delaying a decision on a Tuggeranong swimming complex. This has to be a joke -
Which it is, I am sure -
considering that we have been in government for only six weeks while negotiations already have been going on for three years - under Labor Governments!
Both Federal and local.
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