Page 2770 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 23 June 2009
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I want to move on to other areas within the TAMS portfolio. The GDE, of course, is a saga which has gone on and on and on when, in actual fact, we should have been on the dual carriageway a couple of years ago. If the opposition had been elected in 2004, we would have been on that road a couple of years ago. What Roads ACT revealed in estimates was that it cost an extra $20 million do it the way the government did. The government can try to spin it and say, “What roads wouldn’t you have, Mr Coe?” I am afraid that just does not stack up.
The fact is that it cost $20 million and ran years late. We have to take into account the $20 million of taxpayers’ money and we also have to take into account the depreciation on that money because, had it been invested in other infrastructure two or three years ago, we would actually be two or three years better off. In addition to that, we would have had efficiencies as a result of having a dual carriageway for the last couple of years. People would not be spending as much on petrol, there would be fewer emissions and more time at home or more time at work. The entire system, the entire community would have been better off financially, indeed, socially and, indeed, environmentally had the government actually built the GDE on time and on budget as we were calling for the whole time.
The Kingston library is another issue. It is almost too big and too complex to go into here. We are still trying to get across the information that we got from the estimates committee and answers to questions on notice. In a nutshell, I will really be very surprised if the government is capable of delivering a full library service in an area the size of a coffee shop. They are saying it is 195 square metres or thereabouts. That is a pretty small area. It is 10 metres by 20 metres. It is a very small area.
Mr Seselja: Does that include all the areas out the back as well?
MR COE: Yes, it may well include sorting areas. It may well include a kitchenette. It may include bathrooms. I am not completely across that. Perhaps some of the answers to questions on notice, when they come in, might tell me that information. But I will be very surprised if the government can deliver a comparable service to what was delivered at the Griffith library and the Kingston library shopfront. But the challenge is for the government to deliver it and prove us wrong. In many respects, I hope they do. I hope they do deliver a good service there, but I am very sceptical because this government do not have a good track record when it comes to delivering services or infrastructure.
In addition to that, a question on notice that I put in came back with a confirmation that no parking study was undertaken. Those who frequent Kingston or who live there would be aware of the difficulty in getting a park there, and also the fact that it is pay parking. The ability to drop in and out of a shopfront-style library is going to be eroded by the fact that people are going to be driving around trying to get a spot and perhaps even driving around trying to get a disabled spot. When they do find a spot and put money into the meter, they may go in, spend too much time in the library and get a fine—of course, fines are going up as well in this budget—or they may pop out or just not use the library as they usually do. When you have a library, it should be used properly. It should be available to the public to make the most of, and I am
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