Page 2922 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 13 August 2013
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. administrative costs associated with the approval process increased from an initial estimate of $120,000 to in excess of $850,000 over this period …
They must have been charging by the hour. If the government agencies cannot get their act together to provide the infrastructure that firefighters need to combat the threat of bushfire in the ACT, we are in a pretty dire state.
This comes after 2003. We had the anniversary celebrations earlier this year. We said, “Yes, we remember. We have not forgotten.” But apparently we have, because we have still got a government that cannot coordinate activity. Remember, of course, that we are now in the one government, aren’t we? That is right—one public service. We are all working together. Three board directors. The admin costs—this is just an approval process, members—went from an estimated $120,000 to in excess of $850,000 over the period. And the report says:
… construction costs increased from an initial estimate of $200 000 in 2006 for the first 42 km—
so it is not even the full road—
of upgrade to an estimate of greater than $1.8 million based on the construction work to date.
Yet again we have got a government that cannot deliver capital works projects, but there are dire consequences on this capital works project.
Mr Corbell was a firefighter back in 2003. I am not sure if he was up in the mountains before the 18th, but he was certainly there on the 17th and the 18th. But I was up on the Franklin Road before the 18th, between the 8th and the 18th. At one stage the Franklin Road was the only road that we could get in and out of. And at one stage, in an absolutely audacious bit of firefighting, the fire controller, because the wind was going to shift, took all of the firefighting units and moved them from the northern end of the fire to the southern end of the fire. (Second speaking period taken.) We drove through the fire at a very quiet time and set up the control lines at the southern end. But we only had one road, and units were assigned to keep that road open all night in case we all had to get out of there in a hurry.
This road is vitally important. If you are going to protect the western fringe of the ACT, the suburbs, you have got to be able to get in; you have got to be able to stop it. Here we are 10 years after the fire, and we cannot get our approvals process together. It goes from $120,000 to $850,000, and we cannot even construct the thing. It has gone from $200,000 in 2006. Seven years later, we have not even finished the first 42 kilometres and it is now more than $1.8 million.
I hope the minister takes what the Auditor-General says seriously. I know that he says that she praises their framework. Framework is well and good, but I do not think framework has put fires out. They might be a springboard for something, but only time will tell. If you are not going to provide the assets, whether it be roads or whatever else is required, and they are not going to be ready when the season
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