Page 2908 - Week 11 - Thursday, 22 October 1992

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That anybody could argue that the first bid on a new policy proposal was the complete and accurate and true costing without that sort of analysis seems to me to be the height of naivety and political inexperience. It is a fact, regrettably, Madam Speaker, that many of the bids I have received over the number of budgets I have done have been a little bit generous. Many of the Government's programs and commitments have been fulfilled on somewhat less money than those initial bids might have suggested. It was the case with the reopening of Cook and Lyons schools.

Civic Olympic Pool

MR MOORE: Madam Speaker, my question is much more important than those and it is directed to Mr Connolly. It has to do with the Civic Olympic Pool. The dome was removed rather recently. Mr Connolly, I am wondering what logic is behind the notion of removing the Civic Olympic Pool dome whilst the weather is still cold.

MR CONNOLLY: The wrong Minister. Although the dome was known as the Duby dome, it is no longer part of my portfolio.

MR BERRY: Whilst things are much better under Labor, Madam Speaker, we have not yet worked out a way to control the weather; but we are working very hard on that. We think that the solution might be some time off. When it comes to the dome, a time has been chosen to remove it and that coincides, as I understand it, with the opening, or thereabouts, of the diving pool. If the dome is up and the diving pool is being used, it costs a lot more to supervise all of the people that use the pool. The current understanding is that in the summer months people would rather swim in an open pool.

Mr Moore: It is a question of timing.

MR BERRY: Yes. It is very difficult to work out the right time and a time that pleases everybody. The pool is a heated one and it still would be okay for swimming in the cooler months, but not in the winter, obviously. I do not know how we are going to come to a position which satisfies everybody. I know that the process of removing the dome coincides with the reopening of the diving pool and there are issues of expenditure when it comes to supervising the entire complex. It would take a lot more people, obviously, to supervise two enclosed complexes, which would in effect be the case, rather than one once the dome has been removed.

On the question of timing, I will look into that a little more and see what we can come up with in terms of some sort of temperature scale for various times of the year as to when the dome goes up and down.


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