Page 3329 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 18 September 1990
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Duby's decision to close it. Obviously working on the basis that whatever the people of the ACT want they cannot have, the Ainslie Transfer Station was doomed from the time this Government came to power. It is also interesting to note that many of the so-called innovative ideas of this Government are simply proposals which were included in our budget last year, which this lazy Government did not get around to implementing.
For example, Mr Duby talks about the allocations of money for the community tree planting projects of the ACT. I must say, however, being fair to Mr Duby, that in his press release he says that the funding for this year will build on the enthusiasm generated last year. I am flattered. What he forgets to say, of course, is that the momentum and enthusiasm generated last year came from a new initiative in the Follett Labor Government. I might say that it was in my portfolio.
What I am concerned about is where the initiatives of the Follett Labor Government have been continued by this Government, but the costs have been allowed to blow out without any explanation from the Government or any public outcry. Let me give this Assembly two examples. Mr Duby recently announced that the cost of putting a bubble over the Olympic pool would be $2.1m. Last November this work was estimated to cost just over $1m. Although I have taken this matter up with Mr Duby, both in the Assembly and through the press, Mr Duby has failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for the 100 per cent increase. In the Assembly last week Mr Duby said that my estimates had not taken into account the cost of upgrading the change sheds. Let me tell Mr Duby that there is a lot of concern out in the community about the cost for a bubble and the upgrading of changing sheds. Many people believe that, if there is a choice between saving schools and spending a million dollars for changing sheds, then the community would rather keep the schools.
The second example relates to the question of the swimming pool complex in the Tuggeranong Valley. There are many unanswered questions about that proposal from Decoin Pty Limited which I will deal with later. However, at this stage I would like to point out that Mr Duby has claimed that the cost of extending the Erindale pool would be $6.5m and the cost of a new public pool in the town centre would be $10.2m.
Last year a report prepared for the Follett Labor Government indicated that the cost of extensions to Erindale would be about $2m and the cost of a new pool would be about $4m. Mr Duby has failed to give any justification at all for the increase of nearly 300 per cent in these estimates in less than 12 months. On the question of the Decoin proposal for the swimming facility in Tuggeranong, estimated to cost in excess of $12m, it seems that this Government has decided to replace its commitment to the swimming facility in Tuggeranong with the
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