Page 2298 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 5 June 2013
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standing order 42 and address the chair and not go out and bait members of the opposition. Ms Gallagher.
MS GALLAGHER: Thank you, Madam Speaker. Of course I will not bait members of the opposition but it is hard not to reply. I will get to the question. There have been changes to the Ngunnawal bush healing farm, primarily in negotiations, with the local expert council that has been appointed, around how this service should run, and my view is we needed to get the model right and we needed to take the time to reach agreement on that. And we have.
In relation to the delays—and there are some delays now—there have been a number of objections from local land owners through the planning process. There have been objections to the development application that has been put forward. Now it has to go under that process as well. And I do not know how long that will take. We have had objections, I think, from all of the local land owners around that project. So we cannot start construction until the development application is approved.
In addition, there are some contamination issues in relation to a sheep dip on the site, which we also have to remediate. And we are using the extra funds from the recurrent allocation of funds, where provision was made, to remediate that site.
MADAM SPEAKER: Supplementary question, Mr Wall.
MR WALL: Minister, given the cost blowout of this project in the budget of $2.4 million, will it now be completed as per the original scope to include 16 beds?
MS GALLAGHER: No. It is to be built with eight beds because of the design of the building and the remediation costs that we are now looking at to address the issues of the sheep dip on that site.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mr Hanson.
MR HANSON: Minister, will you guarantee now that this project will be completed by August 2015 and that there will be no further cost blowout or reduction in the number of beds?
MS GALLAGHER: It is dependent on the planning approvals. It is being contested by the local landowners. We have not called the project in. It will go through that process now. I am in the planning authority’s hands and, indeed, the objectors to the development about whether they pursue their options to appeal any approval that is granted.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mr Hanson.
MR HANSON: Minister, what impact has the delay of this project had on local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people?
Ms Porter interjecting—
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