Page 1052 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 19 March 2013

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It is worth saying that again, Mr Assistant Speaker, because it really does summarise the litany of failures. And we all remember the power station: “Oh, that’d be a nice spot for a power station. Let’s locate it as close to the population as we can.” There was very little consultation. But I am pleased to say that the Canberra Liberals led the charge to stop that project in that location because it was ill-founded. What did Deloitte Access say? They said:

As with the ill-fated ACT power station proposal, lack of transparency regarding touted benefits, gross failings in analytical rigour, and inadequacy in consultation processes is not a recipe for consistent, sound policy formulation or for economically and socially desirable outcomes.

That paragraph is a summary of the last decade under those opposite and their inability to deliver.

If we had to do a top 10 failures on infrastructure, what would get into that top 10?

Mr Hanson: GDE.

MR SMYTH: There would be a fight for the top 10. There would be a top 10. I hear “GDE”. GDE would have to go to the top of the list. Here is a snapshot of the government’s record to date. It was some seven years late, and then we had the minister saying, “We’ve opened this a couple of weeks early.” This is the government that delivered a road project that was full before it was finished. What did Deloitte say? Let me just read that again:

The GDE says it all. The original budget that was there was $55 million. I know it was there, because I put it there. It was in my budget. It was in the plan—a consistent plan to deliver better road outcomes for the people of the ACT, that this government blew. And how much has it cost? It is well over $150 million. It is probably closer to $200 million—four times the size and seven years late. That is an outstanding achievement! You could not plan to do it that badly, yet this government did.

Of course, we have the Cotter Dam, budgeted at $140 million. The then Chief Minister was busting to get out and announce that he was going to build a dam, and, remember, this is the government that said, “We don’t need a dam.” When we announced in the lead-up to the 2004 election that we would build a dam because we understood the needs of the people of the ACT, this government said, “No, no, no. No dams required.”

Mr Barr interjecting—

MR ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Mr Doszpot): Mr Barr! I have given you some leeway.

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