Page 4216 - Week 11 - Thursday, 17 Sept 2009
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But let me now go through some of the detail and bring out some of the examples of where they have gone wrong. Certainly, we would all be aware of the Cotter Dam project. In the last few days it has been somewhat in the forefront of our minds, and I think it is worth looking at this issue. Although we have heard much about it in this place, the community should rightly be concerned. It is a case of missed opportunity, inaction and hesitation, and that has led to poor consequences for the people of the ACT.
The history is that initially the estimate was $120 million. In announcing major water security projects for 2007, the Chief Minister said that the enlargement would cost $145 million. On 18 May this year, we were told the figure was probably 30 per cent higher, which would take the figure to $188 million. On 30 May, at the estimates hearings the Actew CEO said that the cost would be 50 to 70 per cent higher, which would take it to $246 million. But barely three months after that date, on 3 September it was revealed that the cost will now be $363 million. We have increased exponentially on this project since 2005.
A project that was originally estimated to cost $120 million is now to cost $363 million. That is a threefold increase, and it is still an estimate. In question time this week we asked the government to confirm, to guarantee, that there would not be even more increases in this price, but they refused to do so. So that is still an estimate. Based on the current rate of it basically going up threefold in the space of four years, what is the final price going to be on that project?
When it comes to securing our water, it is not just the Cotter Dam that has gone up in price. There is the Googong transfer, and we have seen that a price that was originally slated at between $30 million and $40 million has now increased to an estimated $150 million. That is a significant increase again. The cost increase is not just a figure that is going to go on the budget; this is now a cost increase that is going to be absorbed by the people of the ACT by an increase in their water bills. So from 2013, shortly after the next election, everybody’s water bill is going to go up to pay for this government’s mismanagement and incompetence. Between those two projects alone, we have seen the original price skyrocket from $160 million in 2005 to $513 million today. That is just remarkable.
Let me turn now to some other examples, and I am certainly glad that Mr Corbell has come down to listen to some of them. I refer to emergency services and the FireLink communications project. This project cost the ACT taxpayer $5 million. Are we using this system? I do not think so. What a shame. What are we using? Whiteboard markers. When we go back to the era of FireLink and look at actually what was said about this wonderful piece of technology that was going to be delivered by this government, we can refer to the comments of Mr Corbell, the minister responsible at the time—Mr Hargreaves had moved on. He had been found somewhat incapable of delivering anything. Mr Corbell said:
FireLink does work. It is operational currently in RFS and SES. It does work and it is an excellent piece of technology.
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