Page 3537 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 18 September 2019
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Canberra Hospital—switchboard
MS LAWDER: My question is to the Minister for Health. Minister, why has the cost of replacing the electrical switchboards in buildings 2 and 12 of the Canberra Hospital blown out from the original $14 million estimate?
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: I thank Ms Lawder for the question. Obviously, this is a complicated infrastructure project, as part of the UMAHA program. With respect to looking at old infrastructure like those hospital switchboards—of course, we are all aware that there was a fire in the switchboard, and that may have complicated matters—and at replacing infrastructure, you do an initial assessment of what it might cost, but it costs what it costs.
MS LAWDER: Minister, what is the estimated or expected final cost of the electrical switchboards project?
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: Obviously I was unable to predict exactly which papers in my incoming minister’s brief members of the opposition would have with them. They may have the information from the incoming minister’s brief on that matter. I do not have it in front of me. I will take that question on notice.
MRS DUNNE: Minister, how has the scope of the work on the switchboards in buildings 2 and 12 changed over the period of the contract to justify such an exorbitant blow-out to, for your information, $50.9 million? I do not have that written down but I do remember it.
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: It is quite easy to remember something that you wrote just a few minutes ago. I have thousands of pages of briefing and tend to focus on what we are actually doing moving forward to continue to improve the excellent services that Canberra Health Services provide to Canberrans.
As Mrs Dunne has mentioned, the allocation of capital funding for the building 2 and building 12 electrical mains switchboard replacement project within the UMAHA program is $50.9 million. Through the development of the EMSB project, the scope and associated costs have evolved to reflect the realities of this complex project and its impact on critical buildings across the Canberra Hospital campus. The work is being completed in stages. Stage 1 works in building 2, physical installation of the boards, is complete.
Mrs Dunne: On a point of order, my question specifically, minister, was: how has the scope of work changed? I ask you, Madam Speaker, to ask the minister to be directly relevant to the question.
MADAM SPEAKER: She is speaking on the matter of the change in the costs, and she has a minute to go.
Mrs Dunne: I am sorry, the question was not about the change in costs. It was about how the scope of work had changed.
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