Page 4627 - Week 12 - Thursday, 15 October 2009

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .

MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER: The question is that Mr Rattenbury’s amendment be agreed to.

MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Water, Minister for Energy and Minister for Police and Emergency Services) (5.27): The government will not be supporting the motion as proposed by Mr Seselja today. Instead we will be supporting an approach that provides for greater information for members to look at the issues that remain of concern to members in relation to this project. I note that Mr Rattenbury has proposed an amendment to Mr Seselja’s motion. The government generally support the directions of that amendment, but propose an amendment of our own to Mr Rattenbury’s amendment. I now move the amendment which has been circulated in my name:

Omit paragraphs (5) and (6), substitute:

“(5) calls on the Government to provide to Members, by 27 October 2009, the following documents in relation to the Cotter Dam Expansion:

(a) any consultant report outlining initial cost estimates of the dam between 2005 and 2007;

(b) the Deloittes review of the Enlarged Cotter Dam, including the Target Out-turn Cost and related engineering works;

(d) a synopsis of documents outlined in (6)(a) and (b);

(6) calls on the Government to work with ACTEW to seek legal advice regarding the possible release to Members of the documents:

(a) Target Out-turn Cost for the Enlarged Cotter Dam prepared by the Bulk Water Alliance; and

(b) the contract signed by the Bulk Water Alliance and ACTEW to deliver the project,

and to report back to the Assembly in the first sitting week in November 2009;”.

The government is proposing this amendment to the motion today to ensure that the Assembly receives as much information as possible in relation to the costs associated with the expanded Cotter Dam project. The amendment which I have now moved will ensure that Assembly members will have the further detail they are seeking to better understand the factors that have driven the changes in the estimated costs for the project. The amendment also seeks to deal with the sensitive commercial nature of some of the documentation sought in Mr Rattenbury’s amendment and proposes a process for seeking to resolve these matters. I will turn to these particular issues a little later.

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .