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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 10 Hansard (23 September) . . Page.. 3129 ..

MR OSBORNE: Mr Speaker, I suppose I am going to ask this question regarding the redevelopment of Bruce Stadium of the Chief Minister. Are you the one who wants to answer the question?

Mrs Carnell: Yes, that is my department.

MR OSBORNE: Chief Minister, on Friday I received a telephone call from Mr Davy, director of Canturf, a local lawn company based in Bungendore but very much part of the ACT region economy. He was disappointed to learn that it appears his company is to miss out on the job to resurface Bruce Stadium, due to a minor specification technicality regarding the size of the rolls of lawn to be used. The size of Canturf's rolls is smaller than that required by R.A. Young, the consultants. However, I have been informed by Mr Davy today that he has four independent experts prepared to say that this has no impact on the finished product. I have also been informed, Mrs Carnell, that the price Canturf put in to resurface Bruce Stadium is $72,602.50, more than $20,000 cheaper than the Victorian-based company which is allegedly the favourite because it is able to supply the bigger cuts of lawn. Chief Minister, given that Canturf is a locally-based company and given also that their tender is over $20,000 cheaper, will you write to R.A. Young and Associates and ask them to reconsider their stance on the issue of the specification on the size of the rolls required to resurface Bruce Stadium?

MRS CARNELL: I thank the member for the question. Mr Speaker, it would appear that the gentleman from Canturf did not indicate that, on receipt of the same letter that I suspect you got, I immediately asked the department to get in touch with him. They are to have a meeting; it might even be this afternoon. As a result of that, I certainly sought more information on this issue.

Mr Speaker, I understand that no contract for the supply of turf at Bruce Stadium has been awarded as yet. The supply and installation of turf is part of stage 1A of the redevelopment. Haskins Contractors, local contractors, are the construction contractors for this stage. Turfing of the playing surface will be subcontracted by Haskins. Tender documents are prepared by CRI Project Management Pty Ltd in conjunction with the leading civil engineering company, R.A. Young and Associates - both part of the project team for the Bruce Stadium redevelopment. The tender documents specify a number of performance criteria for supply and installation of turf that a prospective supplier would need to adhere to. I also point out that R.A. Young and Associates are the civil engineering consultants who have been engaged. Again, R.A. Young and Associates are a local company, but they have been engaged by SOCOG to evaluate and monitor the playing surfaces for all Olympic football venues.

During the tender period of stage 1A, the Canberra company Canturf contacted both CRI and R.A. Young about their eligibility to supply material. They were advised that, as long as they could meet the specifications laid out in the tender, the opportunity would be available for them to provide a price to the contractor. Haskins is the head contractor and has the responsibility for selecting the supplier of turf. Haskins has confirmed that no decision has yet been made on this supplier, and any company wishing to supply turf will need to convince both Haskins and R.A. Young that they are able to meet the strict

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