Page 832 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 20 March 2019
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MRS KIKKERT: What training have they received and how many have completed the training?
MR GENTLEMAN: I did go into some detail about the training earlier, in my answer to the previous question. The training is of course continuing. They deal with these sorts of incidents of recovery on many occasions. The training modules are being rolled out.
MRS JONES: Minister, how many hours of training has each member of our emergency services staff received in how to deal with light rail incidents?
MR GENTLEMAN: In relation to the hours of training, I will take that on notice and come back to the chamber.
Light rail—completion date
MR WALL: My question is to the Minister for Transport. Minister, I refer to the Canberra Times article on 18 March this year that states that in August of 2018 the minister was given repeated briefings from Canberra Metro stating:
… Canberra Metro have used most of the contingency allowances held within the program and are therefore at a higher risk of missing the forecast completion date.
A Canberra Times article on 24 October last year said:
A Transport Canberra spokesman said the track was now “essentially complete”.
Minister, why in October of last year did you direct Transport Canberra to give public assurances that the rail would be delivered on time when you were being repeatedly advised by Canberra Metro that there would be severe difficulty in meeting your proposed December deadline?
MS FITZHARRIS: I did not give that instruction to Transport Canberra.
MR WALL: Minister, why did you make repeated assurances during this time that the project was on track to be completed in December of 2018?
MS FITZHARRIS: As I indicated last year, it was not until Canberra Metro advised that they could no longer meet the December time frame that I advised the community; I believe it was the next day. Prior to that I had said repeatedly that this is a very complex program. It is a major infrastructure project and there are always risks in a major infrastructure project. We had confidence around the construction and needed to start talking to Canberra Metro about when the date would be that operations would commence.
I said repeatedly that there remained risks to the project, which are many and varied, in my advice and communications with the community and with the Assembly.
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