Page 2729 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 28 June 2011
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This is the background of a government who proposes to build a great big office building, without any thought about how it will fit into the future planning of Civic—not just about the planning of office buildings in Civic and office accommodation for the ACT government, but how it will fit into any future plan for Civic. This government does not have such a plan. It is only the Canberra Liberals who have a way forward for a future plan for Civic. This government does not have a future plan for Civic; it is just this random, impetuous “let’s find a place to plonk a great big building”. We have, by any accounts, an extravagant ministerial wing with its panic room, which is in addition to the cabinet room where they go into panic over the budget, but when things get really crook there is still a panic room as well, it would seem. We do not know whether the air bridge between this building and the putative new building is on or off. Mr Barr said at the architects awards—you were there, Mr Hanson—
Mr Hanson: I was indeed.
MRS DUNNE: He said, “No air bridge.” But it is still up in the air when you look at the response to the estimates inquiry.
Mr Hargreaves: Was that a joke, was it? Was that a joke?
MRS DUNNE: The whole problem with this government is that they are the joke. They are the joke when it comes to managing capital works.
Members interjecting—
MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER: Gentlemen, please be quiet. Listen to Mrs Dunne in silence.
MRS DUNNE: Mr Hargreaves interjects about a joke, but the real joke is the ACT government’s management of capital works. They cannot do it. Mr Corbell was put on the spot the other day and asked could he list any project that came in on time and on budget, and after an embarrassing silence there was eventually an answer to a question on notice. Is it right that the project that was eventually identified was one that was scoped and commenced by the previous Liberal government? So it was that long ago, he had to trawl that far back, and it was a little harder to get it wrong because it was scoped and costed by a previous government and all he had to do was put the finishing touches to it.
We talk about the great big office building, and the great big office building is going to be a problem for the people of the ACT. It is $432 million now before they have finalised the plans or turned a sod. Given their capacity in relation to the Cotter Dam, and we saw it blow out by 163 per cent, you can be sure that it will be well over half a billion dollars before this government will ever manage to finish this building.
They are not to be trusted with the ACT taxpayers’ funds. They are not to be trusted in any regard in relation to the wise management of funds. The Chief Minister’s directorate, the department that the Chief Minister presides over, does not have a great record over the past few years of assisting with keeping people on time and on
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