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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 8 Hansard (31 August) . . Page.. 2735 ..
MR STANHOPE: Mr Speaker, my question is to the Chief Minister. Yesterday the Chief Minister told the media that she did not think the contractor who returfed Bruce Stadium had done the job properly and should not be paid. Can the Chief Minister confirm reports that the contractor, alarmed at these reports, has today refused to lift the failed turf? What action has the Chief Minister taken to rectify her reckless statement and further jeopardise the prospects of Bruce Stadium hosting Olympic soccer, and how long is the queue of litigious consultants or contractors that StrathAyr has now joined?
MS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, I understand that the StrathAyr people left the stadium this morning without any problems. I do not know what Mr Stanhope is talking about. Maybe he is making it up. I am interested that Mr Stanhope is suggesting that the government should pay people who do not actually deliver on contractual obligations.
Mr Corbell: Did he say that? I don't think he said that.
MS CARNELL: Quite seriously, that is exactly what he is saying. If a contractor or somebody else enters into an agreement with government or with anybody else to achieve a particular outcome, surely it is up to the government, the people who are in control of taxpayers' money, to ensure that we get the product that we contracted to pay for. If that product was not delivered then surely we should do exactly what we would do in our own private lives, I hope, and that is require the person to deliver or, alternatively, not pay. That is our responsibility. From my perspective, that is what ministerial responsibility is about-not paying for things that we do not get, Mr Speaker.
I am absolutely amazed that Mr Stanhope could say, as he did in his question, that somehow the ACT government should have paid StrathAyr for not delivering the outcome that they promised. I am absolutely amazed. It shows that those opposite can never be in government.
MR SPEAKER: Do you have a supplementary question?
MR STANHOPE: Yes, thank you, Mr Speaker. Just to confirm the Chief Minister's attitude to the turf at Bruce Stadium, I refer the Chief Minister to an answer she gave to Mr Kaine in the Assembly on 17 February 2000 in which she said to Mr Kaine:
I am surprised that Mr Kaine would not be positive about allowing the Canberra community to have a look at Bruce Stadium, something that just this week the International Olympic Committee said had a surface equivalent to Wembley ...
Can the Chief Minister confirm for the Assembly and the people of Canberra whether she meant Wembley Stadium or the Wembley Gasworks?
MS CARNELL: In smart-arse capacity, that was pretty high.
MR SPEAKER: I am sorry; that is a hypothetical question. It is out of order.
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