Page 998 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 21 March 2012
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to openness, the Greens would rather side with their coalition partners than work for the people of the ACT. There is also that little part of the Greens that would prefer that we were not building this dam at all, and that is quite clear from some of the comments that Mr Rattenbury has made over the time.
So this motion is a simple one. It asks the government to tell the Assembly and, through the Assembly, the people of the ACT about the progress on the principal element of the major water security projects, the enlargement of the Cotter Dam. It asks the government to tell the Assembly about the progress of the largest infrastructure project. It asks the government to tell the people what Actew thought it would cost, how much it had spent, and now, after the rain event, what they estimate it will cost, and to report regularly on progress.
I commend the motion to the Assembly.
MR BARR (Molonglo—Deputy Chief Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Economic Development and Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation) (11.50): The government accepts the spirit of Mrs Dunne’s motion, although I have circulated amendments that deal more fully with the practicalities of the situation.
At the outset let me say very clearly that the government is more than willing to provide an update to the Assembly once more information is available. However, at this stage there is very little that can be said with certainty about the project’s budget or schedule, except that both are under revision given the recent very heavy rain. At this stage it would simply not be appropriate, nor is it feasible, to try and offer detailed information when the situation at the dam is still being assessed by Actew.
The managing director of Actew, Mr Mark Sullivan, is on the public record, giving a clear commitment to make a public announcement about the revised budget and construction schedule for the enlarged Cotter Dam as soon as the information becomes available. Nevertheless, the government understands that there is interest in the dam and its schedule, given the significant challenges the project has faced in recent years.
These challenges have included two very wet years, which have impacted on construction times and cost. I think, as Mrs Dunne has alluded to, this must surely be one of the most ironic construction challenges faced for some time—that we cannot build a significant piece of water security infrastructure because the construction must be halted due to rain. That said, members need only cast their minds back to the middle and latter part of the last decade when we saw dam levels steadily decreasing and serious water restrictions.
Mrs Dunne interjecting—
MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER: Mrs Dunne!
Members interjecting—
MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER: Members, we heard Mrs Dunne in silence. Would you mind paying the same respect to Mr Barr?
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