Page 4873 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 25 October 2011
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MR SPEAKER: Supplementary, Mr Smyth.
MR SMYTH: Minister, why weren’t the needs of the ESA taken into account when identifying the site for a new headquarters?
MR CORBELL: I do not know whether Mr Smyth listened to my previous answer but clearly he did not because if he had he would have recognised that the government chose that site based on the advice of the then commissioner of the ESA and the advice given to it by the then independent statutory authority—
Mr Smyth interjecting—
MR CORBELL: The independent statutory authority—
Mr Smyth interjecting—
MR CORBELL: gave the government bad advice. That advice was identified—
Mr Smyth interjecting—
MR SPEAKER: Mr Smyth, thank you.
MR CORBELL: and that advice—
Opposition members interjecting—
MR SPEAKER: Order, members!
Mrs Dunne interjecting—
MR SPEAKER: Order! Mrs Dunne!
MR CORBELL: was subsequently reviewed—
MR SPEAKER: Order, Mr Corbell. Stop the clocks, thank you. Members, I cannot hear the minister. He is actually answering the question. You might learn something if you listen.
MR CORBELL: Thank you, Mr Speaker—unlikely, but we will give it a go. The government acted on the basis of advice from the ESA as it was then a statutory authority. My colleague the former minister acted on that advice accordingly, but clearly that advice was not completely adequate and certainly was deficient in a whole range of areas. The government had to take steps to address that. It has addressed that. We substantially renegotiated the contract with the Canberra Airport Group. We renegotiated the terms of the contract, the nature of the buildings, and we have now seen delivered a modern, up-to-date, state-of-the-art emergency service headquarters which has a strong capability to manage and coordinate the functions of all of our emergency services for many years to come. We have got a modern, up-to-date
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