Page 3363 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 14 November 2007
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MR HARGREAVES: Mr Speaker, Senator Humphries can say, “We can fix the bridge just like that.” But no money is advanced. He can promise $10 million for Tharwa Drive, he can scatter money all over the place like confetti, but he cannot promise to put any money into the Tharwa bridge. The reason for it is that nobody is particularly sure how much this is going to cost.
The reports that Mr Pratt refers to are not from bridge experts at the RTA in New South Wales. They are from former and retired people from the RTA of New South Wales. They also say that they can fix that bridge in six weeks at half the cost—six weeks at half the cost.
We had a look at fixing that bridge and, yes, they are right. But they forgot to take into account how much money it takes to take the Bailey bridges out. They have allowed no money in their thinking for the removal of the Bailey bridges, nor have they taken into consideration that right now, if they take those Bailey bridges away, the whole lot is going to fall in the river. It is that that we have as a concern.
At the moment reports given to me are that that bridge is 75 millimetres out of alignment on a twist. You can see through it. But you cannot see it from the picnic grounds that Mr Pratt goes to because it is on the other side. Has Mr Pratt bothered to have a look at that particular line? No, he has not.
Mr Pratt: They can repair that bridge for a lot cheaper than that, and you know it.
MR SPEAKER: Mr Pratt, do you have a supplementary question?
MR PRATT: Minister, why have you failed for more than 18 months to acknowledge that the Tharwa bridge can be restored—and a damn sight cheaper, by the way, than the concrete bridge project—and that the disadvantages being experienced by the Tharwa community can be resolved far more quickly than what they are going to be by your current plan?
MR HARGREAVES: Mr Speaker, before I transferred responsibility for heritage matters to the Chief Minister, I did actually query how much would it cost to do this? How much would it cost to actually restore the old bridge? Of course, the costs came in at around about $10 million, or thereabouts, with $100,000 a year for maintenance, and the bridge would be guaranteed for a period of 20 years. A concrete and steel bridge across that river is guaranteed for 100 years. Twenty years later, we would be back doing it again.
The other thing, Mr Speaker, is out of what would you make it. The villagers at Tharwa said they did not want a concrete and steel look-alike bridge; the Heritage Council said they did not want a concrete and steel look-alike bridge; they wanted it made out of timber. Now, the timber, the actual original timber, is not available; full stop.
Mr Pratt: There is timber available.
MR HARGREAVES: Mr Speaker, the timber that is the closest we can get to it—
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